Appeal Court to hear arguments in dismissed election petition case today

THE Court of Appeal will today commence hearing arguments in the case filed by the APNU+AFC concerning dismissed Election Petition 88 of 2020, which was thrown out by the High Court two years ago.

The case was filed to challenge the ruling of Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, S.C., who had dismissed the petition due to serious non-compliance with the Constitution of Guyana, electoral law and other infringements.

The applicants, Claudette Thorne and Heston Bostwick, filed an appeal some 18 months after the CJ had handed down her decision.

Among other things, they are contending that the Chief Justice erred in law and misdirected herself when she misapplied the doctrine of strict compliance.

Another claim is that the Chief Justice erred and misdirected herself when she failed to consider the objective of the petition in making her decision based on the content of the Affidavit of Service.

Their attorney, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde had previously filed a motion to have the hearing of the appeal expedited.

He had argued that the failure of the Chief Justice to deliver the written decision to the applicants resulted in a delay of the documents needed for the notice of appeal.

In the notice of appeal, the applicants indicated that they are challenging the Chief Justice’s April 2021 decision to dismiss the petition.

When the matter was filed at the High Court, Thorne and Bostwick, in their documents, had asked the court to determine the legality of the March 2 elections, and the results that led to the declaration and allocation of seats in the National Assembly.

They sought an order directing the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, to declare former President David Granger the winner.

Election Petition 99 of 2020, which was filed on behalf of petitioners, Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse, was thrown out by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in October 2022.

The CCJ ruled that the CoA does not have the jurisdiction to hear and determine the appeal filed to challenge the dismissal of that petition.

In January 2021, it was dismissed by the Chief Justice due to late service, non-service, or improper service.