The election petitions filed by Mr Benjamin Exeter and Mr Lauren Baptiste will be heard in the court of appeal in St Lucia on March 7th, 2017.
The lawyers representing Baptiste and Exeter would be Mr Stanley Stalky John, Mrs Kay Bacchus-Baptiste, Mr Keith Scotland and Miss Mya Eustace.
They along with Mr Exeter and Mr Baptiste will travel to St Lucia on Monday, March 6th for the hearing, President of the NDP Dr Godwin Friday would also be present at the hearing.
“ As you know following the general elections in St Vincent in December of 2015, two of the candidate’s file petitions challenging the election results in Central Leeward and North Windward”.
The leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday speaking at an NDP press conference Wednesday morning said, as required by the legislation governing election petitions, recognisances or bonds were signed by persons intending to be sureties to provide security for cost behalf of the petitioners.
“ The respondents in the matter, that is the relevant Returning Officers, Presiding Officers, Supervisor of Elections, Sir Louis Straker, Mr Montgomery Daniel and the Attorney General of St Vincent and the Grenadines filed applications in the court to have the petitions struck out”.
Friday said this was on the basis that they had not met the requirements of sections 58 of the representation of the people’s act and number 9 of the House of Assembly election petition rules of 2014, which sets out the procedures and conditions for providing security for cost.
“ The Application to strike out the petition was heard before Justice Brian Cottle on March 4th, 2016, at that hearing the petitioner’s Lawyers made a preliminary objection to the application to strike out on the basis that the court lack jurisdiction to hear such matter at that stage in the petition proceedings”.
Friday said despite the objections of the Lawyers the Judge proceed to hear the application to strike out the petition.
“ In a written decision on delivered on April 4th, 2016, Justice Cottle ultimately agreed with our lawyers and ruled that the petitions could not be struck out at that stage in the proceedings, However, he went on further to state that if the application to strike out the petition were brought again later during the hearing of the petitions, on their merit it was bound to succeed.”
Friday said it will be up to the Court Of Appeal to decide whether Justice Cottle was right or wrong to strike out the petitions.
“ We are confident that our petitions are strong and that the court will grant the appeal and overturn Justice Cottle decision, should the court grant the appeal, the petition will then be able to proceed to a hearing on their merits before a judge in the high court.”
“ We believe in the law and the evidence in the cases that our candidates Mr Exeter and Mr Baptiste will win their legal battle”.
By Ernesto Cooke