An application made to the court to inspect the ballot boxes used in the Central Leeward constituency in the December 2015 General Elections was on Tuesday dismissed and deemed an “abuse of the court’s process” by High Court Judge Justice Esco Henry.
The application was made by the legal team representing one of the two petitioners Benjamin Exeter who was the opposition New Democratic Party’s candidate for Central Leeward in the December 2015 election.
According to the ruling handed down by Justice Henry in the High Court, the matter was two prong, as there was no justifiable basis to consider the petitioner’s motion, and that whether the petitioners presented enough evidence to justify documented proof of their allegations.
She pointed out that much of the evidence put forward by the petitioners were “speculation” and could be deemed “judge-less and complete-less”. She also noted that some of the relevant information to back the petitioners case were not presented or not done so in a timely manner.
She pointed out that if it is a simply a case of typographical error etc., it would put the court in a “peculiar situation” and that she would not rule against the decision made by Justice Brian Cottle, who had already ruled out the option of having the ballot boxes inspected.
Ordering the petitioner to pay cost to the respondents, Justice Henry also told the court that a date for the petition hearing would be set by the registrar.
Head of the legal team for the petitioners, Queen’s Counsel Stanley “Stalky” John, said he accepts the ruling of Justice Henry, and is now focused on the upcoming petition trial.
One of the lawyers for the respondents, Grahame Bollers, said the arguments they put forward in court validated the ruling by the High Court Judge, not to inspect the ballot boxes.
Bollers said that his team’s next move is to get ready for trial when the date is set by the registrar.
