APNU/AFC to file 2nd election petition soon – coalition lawyer

…new petition will deal with matters not covered in 1st

A second election petition challenging the results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections that saw the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) emerging victorious after a five-month delay, is likely to be filed soon.
This is according to A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) parliamentarian and legal point man, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde. While Forde would not confirm that the petition is originating from his party, he noted that it will be forthcoming soon.
“I’m aware a second petition will be filed. I’m not saying it’s on behalf of the coalition. I anticipate it’s likely to be done very soon,” Forde explained during a brief interview with this publication.
In the petition filed at the High Court on August 31, it was contended that Order 60 of 2020, which established the recount that produced the PPP as the winner of the elections, is unconstitutional and inconsistent with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
APNU/AFC is seeking an order to declare the elections null and void and in violation of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act and Order 60. They are also seeking to nullify the declaration of current President Dr Irfaan Ali as the winner of the elections.
When asked what the new petition is likely to be based on, Forde cited some of the prevalent concerns APNU/AFC had during the recount, including the absence of statutory documents from ballot boxes.

“It’s likely to cover issues not raised in the first one. It’s likely to cover issues to do with the 11,000 odd votes included by GECOM, no assessment has been made on that. So those are the issues I expect to be (covered),” he said.
On August 28, a virtual press conference had been held where AFC party Chairman Raphael Trotman had indicated that two petitions would be filed, with the second one acting as a backup in case the first one failed.
“The law with respect to petitions is very strict, compliance is very strict, and if there is a failing…the good reason, it is important to have multiple petitions so if there is a defect in one, hopefully will not be found in the other,” Trotman had said.
The first petition was filed by Senior Counsel Forde, on behalf of applicants Claudette Thorne and Heston Bostwick. Also representing the petitioners are Trinidadian Senior Counsel John Jeremie and Attorneys-at-Law Raphael Trotman and Olayne Joseph.
Once the petition was filed, Forde was joined outside the court by APNU leader and former President David Granger, as well as Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan.
A number of the issues raised in the petition were addressed by the courts during the five-month-long process from March 2 to the swearing-in of President Ali. One such issue is the petition’s contention that Order 60 of 2020 is illegal.
However, acting Chief Justice Roxane George had ruled on July 20, 2020, that the recount order was valid and must form the basis for declaring the winner of the General and Regional Elections.
She had upheld a previous ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which had validated the use of Order 60 to cater for the various disputes and contentions that arose after polling day ie the controversial declaration of District Four (Demerara-Mahaica) results by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
The form that Mingo used to declare the results for Region Four was included in the petition’s supporting documents. On the form, Mingo listed the total number of valid votes for all lists as 217,425 and gave APNU/AFC 136,057 votes and the PPP/C 77,231 votes.
In reality, the recount and audit of the ballot boxes found that a total of 202,077 votes were cast in Region Four, with 116,941 for APNU/AFC and 80,920 for PPP/C. It, therefore, means that Mingo declared in excess of 15,000 voters for which there are no ballots.