THE legal proceeding filed by the Liberty and Justice Party Leader, Lenox Shuman challenging the validity of the order to conduct house-to-house registration issued by former Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, commenced on Friday, August 09, 2019.

On Friday the matter came up before Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire at the Demerara High Court.

Representing Shuman was attorney-at-law Attorney Sanjeev Datadin, while the State was represented by Attorney General Basil Williams, Solicitor General, Nigel Hawke and Attorney-at-Law Roysdale Forde.

The matter was adjourned until August 13, 2019, for submissions.
The Chief Justice reminded the parties not to base their submission on the similar matter which was before her on the legal challenge against House-to-House Registration and related cases.

Shuman is of the view that the appointment of the GECOM Chairman having been found to be void by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), effectively made ‘void’ any order made under his hands.

The Party Leader moved to the court and filed an application for an order of certiorari quashing the decision of the then chairman of GECOM made on June 11, 2019, for house-to-house registration. The court was being asked to find the decision unlawful, null, void, irrational, unreasonable, ultra vires, contrary to the rules of natural justice, made in bad faith and made without lawful authority.

On October 19, 2017, Justice James Patterson was unilaterally appointed to the Chairman of GECOM. However, following his appointment, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Secretary, Zulfikar Mustapha, filed legal proceedings contending that Patterson’s appointment was illegal.

The challenge by Mustapha was eventually heard by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and determined on July 18, 2019, with consequential orders made on July 12, 2019.
The CCJ declared the unilateral appointment of Patterson to be void and it was whilst the appeal was pending to the superior court, the GECOM chairman purported to make and publish the National Registration (Residents) order 2019 (NRRO 2019)
The NRRO 2019, had the effect of directing that house-to-house registration takes place for the purpose of identifying qualified electors to produce an Official List of Electors.