PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, November 14, Former finance minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira, who is challenging Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley for the leadership of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM), has gone to the High Court here claiming a “breach of contract” ahead of the polls.
Nunez-Tesheira is joined by Dr. Kenneth Butcher and Bishop Victor Phillip in the lawsuit that has been filed against Foster Cummings, the PNM’s general secretary and a representative of all members of the party.
The three are alleging that there are at least ten issues that constitute breaches, with the main one being the decision to change the election day to election days.
They argue, through their lawyers, Peter Taylor, a former PNM government minister, and Egon Embrack, that the decision to have election days is unconstitutional.
The PNM internal election is scheduled for November 26 and 27, as well as December 4.
In the lawsuit, the three claim that the voting dates had been decided on by the party’s central executive and ratified by the general council on August 10, which they said is equivalent to an amendment of the PNM’s Constitution, which the party’s central executive does not have the power to make.
“The central executive is therefore subservient to the general council and cannot arrogate unto itself powers which the general council itself does not possess.
“The decision to change the election from the time-honored ‘election day’ to span a nine-day period is a fraught exercise more so since no justifiable reasons have been proffered to the membership for such a change which is without precedent anywhere in the Commonwealth or in jurisdictions throughout the world that observe and adhere to democratic conventions and practices and to the observance of the rule of law,” the lawsuit contends.
The three are also challenging the party’s alleged failure to settle and provide final membership lists to candidates, name the locations of polling stations, confirm whether polling cards have been mailed out, and distribute election guidelines to all candidates.
The claim also takes issue with a decision to appoint an elections supervisory committee which allegedly lacks genuine independence.
“The claimants challenge the genuineness of the independence of the Elections Supervisory Committee (ESC),” according to the lawsuit noting that they had not received any direct responses raised in correspondence to the ERC’s chairman, Anthony Roberts.
“The ESC chairman’s reply sidestepped and never answered the question posed by the claimant’s attorney as to the justification for changing the Elections from one day to nine days.”
In the lawsuit, the three want the High Court to allow all candidates, or their authorized representatives, to oversee the casting of ballots at all polling stations, as well as three orders to allow ballots to be counted immediately after the close of voting, postponing the election for 21 days to give effect to the court’s orders and declarations.
They also want the High Court to allow every candidate to follow ballot boxes to the venue where votes will be counted.
and then 