Appeal filed against Full Court ruling on recount injunction
Attorney-at-Law Mayo Robertson
Attorney-at-Law Mayo Robertson

Private citizen Ulita Moore, has filed an appeal, challenging a ruling by the Full Court that the Court has no jurisdiction to review the decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) outside of an Elections Petition.

The Full Court’s ruling on Tuesday overturned an earlier decision by Justice Franklin Holder that the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the case brought by Moore challenging GECOM’s decision to facilitate a National Recount of all the votes cast at the March 2 Elections.

The decision of the Full Court, delivered by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire and Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, in effect discharged the interim injunctions granted by Justice Holder and dismissed Moore’s Fixed Date Application (FDA).

But it was not long after that Moore moved to the Court of Appeal, and filed a Notice of Appeal to challenge the decision of the Full Court.

Senior Counsel Neil Boston

According to the Notice of Appeal seen by Guyana Chronicle, the case is being brought against the Guyana Elections Commission, the Chairman of GECOM, the Chief Elections Officer, Mark France, Daniel Josh Kanhai, John Flores and Bharrat Jagdeo by Moore.
In the application, Moore, through her attorneys Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde and Mayo

Robertson, told the Appellate Court that the Full Court erred in law when it ruled that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear or consider the FDA.

Moore’s Attorneys told the Appellate Court that the Full Court, “failed to properly construe the legislative regime governing disputes in relation to Elections and in particular Section 140 of the Representation of the People Act.”

The Chief Justice, in handing down the ruling, had said that the Section 140 (1) of the Representation of the People Act precludes the Court from intervening in the decision making of GECOM except by way of an Elections Petition, however, Moore’s attorneys told the Court of Appeal that the Full Court failed to effectively consider the terms and effect of Section 140 (1) as well as the nature and effect of the relief sought.

Moore had filed the FDA in the High Court on March 17 with the intention of preventing a recount of the ballots and to have a President of Guyana declared, but Jagdeo, the seven named respondent, had challenged the jurisdiction of the Court to hear the case. It was that challenge that led to the Full Court’s decision on March 31. But Moore is maintain that the Court can facilitate a Judicial Review of the decisions of GECOM as raised in the FDA.
“The decision of the Full Court is bad in Law and the Intended Appellant/Applicant ought to be granted leave to file an appeal against the decision of the said Full Court,” her Lawyers submitted.

Forde and Robertson pointed out that the Court of Appeal Act, Chapter 3:01 provides for leave to be granted for the filing of a Notice of Appeal, appealing a decision of the Full Court.

Immediately after the ruling on Tuesday, Robertson had requested leave from the Court to file an appeal at the level of the Court of Appeal but that was refused by the Full Court. “In relation to the application for leave to appeal, the court is unanimous in refusing this application on the basis that this court, whilst acknowledging this is a serious issue by the parties, finds there is no real prospect of success of an appeal,” Justice Harnanan said as he, on behalf of the Full Court, also refused the application for a stay.

The Appellate Court is likely to consider Moore’s Notice of Appeal today.

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