Georgetown: The Court of Appeal will Sunday at 11AM rule on the case challenging the Full Court decision to discharge the orders which blocked GECOM from carrying out a recount under the supervision of a team from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Additionally, the Court of Appeal on Friday morning denied an application for an order to stop the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) from meeting to decide on a national recount of votes cast on March 2.
The Court of Appeal judges are Justices Rishi Persaud, Dawn Gregory and Brassington Reynolds.
In a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, the Full Court, comprising Chief Justice (Ag) Roxanne George and Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, ruled that High Court Judge Franklyn Holder does not have the jurisdiction to hear the application filed by Moore for an injunction to block the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from moving forward with plans to have a nationwide recount.
The two judges overturned a decision by Justice Holder to hear the case on grounds of the submission by Mendes who cited Section 140 of the Representation of the People Act which bars the Court from enquiring into the decision and operations of the Guyana Elections Commission.
Section 140 of the Representation of the People Act reads: “(1) Except to the extent that jurisdiction in that behalf has been conferred, and the exercise thereof is required, by the Constitution or any law made under article 3 thereof (which provides for the determination by the Supreme Court of Judicature of questions as to membership of the National Assembly and elections thereto) and save as hereinbefore provided to the contrary, no question whether any function of the Elections Commission or of any of its members has been performed validly or at all shall be enquired into in any court.”
The section further states: “(2) No evidence of any deliberations of the Elections Commission or communications between members of the Commission regarding its business shall be admissible in any court.”
Additionally, the Court upheld the argument that Moore is not totally denied legal recourse. However, her questions should be raised in an elections petition. “It is not a case for judicial review,” Mendes had argued.
Moore had, inter alia, asked the court to inquire into the constitutionality of a decision made by GECOM to have a high-level CARICOM team supervise a national recount of the votes cast in the March 2 elections.
In addition to ruling that the High Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case, on Monday the Full Court also denied Moore’s attorneys’ application for a stay of their decision and leave to file an appeal on grounds of an unlikely probability of success at the level of the Court Of Appeal.
Moore‘s legal team nonetheless had noted that they reserved the right to appeal and would take the legal course of redress.
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