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…chief justice upholds argument of non-compliance of service
Chief Justice Roxane George moments ago nullified Petition 99 on the grounds that there were noncompliance of service on the second named respondent David Granger, who she concluded was a proper and necessary party to the petition.
The National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act and Rules mandate that Respondents, in Election Petitions, be served within five days of the Presentation of the Petition, however, the initial petition documents indicated that Granger was served on September 25, 2020, outside of the stipulated timeframe. However, in a Supplementary Affidavit, Nurse told the Court that the APNU+AFC Representative was actually served on September 18, 2020.
However, the Chief Justice, in handing down her ruling, indicated that the petitioners ought not to have filed a Supplementary Affidavit without permission from the Court. Further, she ruled that late filing of the supplementary Affidavit was not in compliance with Rule 9 (5).
Petition 88, however, has been saved, and the Court will therefore proceed with it.
Importantly, the Chief Justice ruled that Granger was a necessary party, and ought to have been properly served. More details to follow…..
