Nomination Day to proceed on new boundaries
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MEMBERS of the Government’s camp are in celebratory mode having received word this afternoon (Feb 5) that the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled in their favour to uphold the discharging of an injunction by the lower Court, thereby permitting the General Elections to proceed on the newly-established electoral boundaries.
The Appellate Court heard arguments yesterday in St. Lucia from lawyers representing the Government and the Opposition, who were at it from about 10:00 a.m. to close to 9:00 p.m. with a break for lunch.
The injunction was granted by Justice Marlene Carter on January 16 to prohibit boundary realignment with the use of the Constituency Boundaries Commission’s Report. But the injunction was secured after that process was concluded.
Justice Carter discharged the injunction. The Opposition appealed her decision and were successful in having an interim injunction put in place pending the outcome of the case.
The Court of Appeal however ruled that Justice Carter was correct in discharging the injunction.
Shortly after the Court’s ruling was made known, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas appeared on ZIZ Radio and expressed that he was pleased with the Appeal Court’s decision and that for years the Government has made attempts to realign the boundaries, but they have been constantly frustrated.
Dr. said he knows that the Opposition would not accept defeat easily and indicated that he is confident that their case would fail should they move to the Privy Council.
The Prime Minister declared that Nomination Day, which is slated for tomorrow (Feb. 6), would take place on the new boundaries.
SKNVibes spoke with Sylvester Anthony, a members of the Government’s legal team, who described the Court’s ruling as a “tremendous victory for democracy and fairness”.
He explained that according to his understanding, the Opposition is appealing the Appellate Court’s decision.
He said both the Government and the Opposition, being unaware of what the results would have been, had made arrangements with the Privy Council. And now that the decision was handed down, the Opposition has been granted leave to petition the Privy Council.
He also indicated that it is likely that the case would be heard by next Tuesday (Fed. 10).
Several attempts were made by this publication to contact Unity Leader the Hon Dr. Timothy Harris to get his views on the ruling and to find out if they are indeed appealing the Appellate Court’s decision, but they were unsuccessful.
