Former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The coalition People’s Partnership late Wednesday announced that it would be mounting a legal challenge to the results of Monday’s general election which it lost to the People’s National Movement (PNM).
In a statement, the coalition, comprising the United National Congress (UNC), the Congress of the People (COP), the Tobago Organization of the People (COP) and the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) said that it had received legal advice in its change to the results.
The PNM won 23 of the 41 seats that were at stake in Monday’s general election with the coalition, which had won 29 seats in 2010, only able to win 18.
The coalition said it was challenging the results based on the unilateral decision of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to extend the voting period by one hour due to the inclement weather on “
The rules which govern a general election are quite clear. Strict adherence to these rules is absolutely necessary to minimize and avoid irregularities. Failure to do so will result in allegations and perceptions of unfairness and favouritism.
“Information and data received by the party strongly suggested that the People’s Partnership was comfortably ahead in the polls at 6:00 pm. The march to victory adversely affected by the sudden unilateral decision by the EBC to extend hours of the poll from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm,” the coalition said.
IT said that the “EBC cannot and should not change the rules of engagement without giving proper notice to candidates, political parties and voters.
“We have received reports that citizens were unable to cast their vote at certain polling stations because the officials of the EBC were themselves unaware or uncertain about the decision to extend the time of voting until 7pm. Additionally, many citizens were unaware of this extension of time and hence did not cast their vote.”
The coalition said that Rule 27 (1) of the election rules “is quite clear” noting that “the taking of the poll at each polling station shall be between 6 0’clock in the morning and 6 o’clock in the afternoon of the same day.
“Any suspension or adjournment must be based on fair and adequate prior public notice to ensure there is a level playing field. Thus, the poll could have been adjourned to the following day to facilitate those who were unable to cast their vote for good reason. This has in fact happened in the past.”
The coalition said that it had been advised that the “decision by the EBC to give an extra hour undermines the legal framework which governed the conduct of the general election and was tantamount of the shifting of the political goal post at the end of the game.
“This might have very well affected the integrity of the process and the results in critical constituencies.
“This is a serious and important violation of the spirit and intention of the Constitution, the Representation of the People’s Act and the election rules. We will therefore file these election’s petitions to ensure that the rule of law is upheld and justice is done.”
But former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, speaking on television here on Wednesday night, said the coalition would face an uphill task in getting a court to rule in its favour.
He described the move as vexatious and not likely to be tolerated by the court.
Meanwhile, the UNC said its executive had passed a resolution expressing “collective and full support for Kamla Persad Bissessar to continue as political leader as the party”.
The term of Persad Bissessar who had ousted the party’s founder Basdeo Panday in 2010, ended in 2013 and that of the rest of the executive a year later.