Judge Highlights Irregularities

Details

Politics

Thursday, 01 April 2010 06:55

By Ian Magic Hughes

Justice Louise Blenman, who delivered the highly awaited decision in the elections petitions on Wednesday, listed a number of irregularities that caused three seats to be deemed invalid.

Her ruling saw the opposition Antigua Labour Party successful in all but one of the petitions filed after the March 12 2009 general elections.

The ALP contested the results in St George, Barbuda, St John’s Rural West, and St John’s Rural North.

The party's representatives lost to three UPP candidates - Prime Minister Spencer in Rural West, John Maginley in Rural North and Jacqui Quinn-Leandro in St George.

Trevor Walker of the Barbuda Peoples Movement had defeated the ALP's Arthur Nibbs in Barbuda.

Walker later aligned with the UPP, giving the government 10 of the 17 seats in Parliament.

Blenman heard evidence at the end of November 2009. In explaining her decision, she referenced a number of legal precedents where similar verdicts were delivered.

Nibbs had accused Walker of undue influence and bribery in Barbuda, but the judge concluded this was not substantiated by the evidence. It was alleged that Walker played a role in Barbudan students studying in Cuba coming home to vote.

It was also alleged that the count was improper, and a recount breached the law.

The judge relied heavily on the testimony of Bruce Goodwin, ambassador to Cuba, whose testimony, she said, was “strong and compelling.”

In the face of extremely tough cross examination, Goodwin, she said, remained resolute and believable, unlike a number of others who testified in the matter.

Blenman said as far as the use of a photo list in all four petitions, such a list was unconstitutional.

“The list to be used is the register for election,” she said.

In all four cases, the petitioners had argued that the late start of the election, as well as the use of a photo list, was a breach of the laws of Antigua & Barbuda.

Justice Blenman agreed, but did not concur that there were any breaches in the recount. As a result, she ruled that the election, which saw Walker taking the Barbuda seat over Nibbs, was valid.

Not so in the case of Rural North, where John Maginley defeated Max Fernandez, and in Rural West where Spencer hammered Gail Christian. Blenman concluded that the petitions in the three constituencies were similar. The  petitioners claimed that the late start at the polls disenfranchised persons seeking to cast their votes.

She said the law intended that the polls open at 6 am. They opened late in the three constituencies, which Blenman concluded was a breach of law.

She explained however that breach of the law alone does not allow her to overturn an election decision.
Compliance with the law was another determination to be considered.

The judge explained that the court had to determine whether the breach or compliance disenfranchised anyone.

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She concluded that while a number of the witnesses were unreliable, the court could not say definitively that no one was disenfranchised.

After delivering her ruling, Blenman left for the airport.

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