BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE last two witnesses in the contentious constituency boundaries case took the stand yesterday (Aug. 21) for cross-examination.
In the early part of the afternoon, statistician for the Boundaries Technical Committee (BTC) Beverly Harris took the stand and was cross-examined by counsel for the claimants (the People’s Action Movement) Constance Mitchum. As she opened her examination, Mitchum asked the witness to state the terms of reference which bound the BTC in carrying out its responsibilities.
Harris told the Court that she received a letter of appointment that indicated the role she was expected to play. She further said that the terms of reference for the BTC indicated they were to make recommendations to ensure that the constituencies “are as equitable as possible”.
Mitchum said that there was cause for concern in the report, as she observed that no figures as per constituency were presented. Instead, she alleged that the population distribution and density were presented based on parishes.
She argued that because constituencies straddle across parish boundaries, with the exception of Constituency Five, the numbers did not accurately reflect the number of persons to be affected by the changes.
The PAM lawyer continued in that vein of argument by suggesting to the witness that even though the report speaks to new housing development areas in the St. Marys and St. Peters parishes, there are no figures to support the notion.
Mitchun concluded that no new information was collected, and that no real conception of the number of inhabitants to be affected in those areas was provided in order for the BTC to make an informed and accurate decision.
“I am suggesting to you that your committee acted according to the dictates of the government,” she asserted.
Harris addressed both of Mitchum’s contentions by explaining that information was collected “as far down as the village level” to allow the BTC to have a clear understanding of the number of people to be affected with the proposed changes. She admitted that the committee did not receive any new figures, but said that a steady increase in the number of inhabitants in St. Marys and St. Peters was witnessed between the 1991 and 2001 censuses.
Harris was not re-examined by the respondents.
Attorney-General Hon. Dr. Dennis Merchant was then called to the witness stand. Merchant, who had filed two affidavits on July 8 and August 7, was also cross-examined by Mitchum, who launched an enquiry into events leading up to the report of the Constituency Boundaries Commission (CBC) report being laid in Parliament in the face of a standing Court order prohibiting such.
Counsel Mitchum continued questioning Merchant until Senior Counsel representing the CBC Anthony Astaphan QC sharply objected to her line of enquiry. He claimed that the questions seemed to be “revisiting issues that have already been dealt with” in the previous Contempt of Court proceedings.
Mitchum then probed into the work done by the Electoral Commission in the electoral reform process. Merchant was quick in response, stating that he could not further comment on the matter.
In closing, Mitchum argued that neither the BTC or the CBC were involved in “widespread consultation regarding boundary changes” because all of the consultative reports were submitted to Parliament in 2007 and neither the BTC or CBC was appointed until a year after those reports were tabled.
Merchant was not questioned by the government’s side.
Today (Aug. 21), both sides are expected to make their closing arguments and will have 10 days in which to formally submit written arguments.
