"The amount of energy spent by the Respondents in delaying and avoiding a trial of this Election Petition is telling." Counsel Byron said Thursday morning.
Moreover, he asserted, it was clear during the oral submissions of Dr. Henry Browne and Anthony Astaphan, S.C., that they failed to point to any relevant law to support their Application to strike out Grant's Petition. For, while Mr. Astaphan referred to laws from Dominica and elsewhere, he could not make any link to the laws of St. Kitts and Nevis such as the National Assembly Elections Act which differ tremendously. And while Dr. Browne spoke eloquently, he could not cite even one case to substantiate all his arguments.
Counsel Byron declared: "The Constitution stipulates that you vote only in the Constituency in which you reside. Votes which were cast by people who do not live in Old Road were therefore not good and valid votes. This is a Constitutional imperative and the Constitution is supreme. Any Government policy or Act of Parliament which gives people the right to vote where they do not live is unconstitutional and a perversion of justice." Byron then pointed to the SR&O 18 of 2006 which purported to establish the Labour Government's electoral reform policy. This SR&O was already declared "unconstitutional, null and void" by Judge Errol Thomas in the Constituency Boundaries cases last year in which the Attorney General was found in contempt of court. Byron declared that he therefore made no apology in calling the Government's policy perverse and illegal.
There were dozens of objection hearings that remained unheard up to Election Day. Lindsay Grant asserts that adequate arrangements were not put in place for these voter registration objections to be heard by the Returning Officer before January 25th, 2010.
Counsel Byron emphasized that the law of St. Kitts of Nevis dictates that the Court must uphold the will of the Electorate. "That is," Byron advanced, "the will of those people who are qualified to vote in that constituency by virtue of their residence, in accordance with the Constitution".
"I am confident my legal team's arguments were well-grounded in the law and equally confident that the Judge will see the corrupt nature and immensely fraudulent activity that seriously skewed the results in my constituency in the last general election," said People's Action Movement Leader Lindsay Grant.
The Judge has reserved judgment in the matter and is expected to give her decision in late August.