Hearing of Election Petition No. 88 for February 8, 2023

Hearing into Election Petition No. 88 will be on 8^th February 2023 starting at 9:30 a.m. The interested parties, during Case Management hearing on Wednesday 7^th December, all accepted from Justice Rishi Persaud:

• The appellant submits written submission on or before 28^th December 2022.
• The respondent replies with written submission on or before 18^th January 2023.
• The appellant has until 22^nd January 2023 to reply.
• The hearing will be on  8^th February 2023 at 9:30 a.m.

Petition No. 88 seeks to nullify the results of the March 2, 2020 elections on the grounds of non-compliance with the Constitution of Guyana and Election Laws relating to the conduct of those polls by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The Court of Appeal began Case Management hearing on 1^st November.

The Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), is appealing the 26^th April 2021 ruling of  acting Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire SC,  that Section 22 of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act and Order 60 of 2020 (Recount Order) were constitutional. The appellants are contending otherwise.

Last August appellants Heston Bostwick and Claudette Thorne applied to the Court for a speedy hearing of the appeal.

In their affidavit they made known they should not have to suffer the “inordinate delay” of justice due to administrative shortcomings of the Court in ensuring the Registry has in possession a written submission of April’s decision.

Their attorney, Roysdale Forde SC, told the Court the failure to have the full decision made and laid over before the court, upon which his clients could first establish and access the record of the appeal, is not their fault and that failure also contributes to the delay of justice.

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud who heard the pleadings concurred.

As per Cummings-Edwards, “a party or an applicant should not be turned away from the seat of justice given the nature of this matter and, therefore, in the interest of justice” the court will grant the application for a speedy trial.