More United National Congress legal action on the Local Government election is coming.
The Opposition yesterday filed an injunction against Government, seeking to prevent Local Government councillors and aldermen from continuing to act in those positions after councils’ original expiration date of December 3.
The Government recently extended the term to December 2023, when councils will now expire.
Speaking at last night’s UNC Virtual Report, however, Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar confirmed the party’s second legal move to ensure its challenge of Government’s extension of the LG term is done speedily.
Persad-Bissessar referred to the UNC’s first legal move on the matter—last week’s case filed against postponement of the Local Government election which was caused by Government’s extension of the Local Government term.
Persad-Bissessar said she was seeing a “kind of perversion of the course of justice in a different way.”
She said the court set “some very strange dates to continue UNC’s matter—in January 2023!”
“I was very disturbed at their ruling. So, our lawyers, Anand Ramlogan and others, filed another matter in the court against Government about these elections and seeking an injunction to prevent Local Government officers from continuing to act as councillors and aldermen after December 3.”
She said this was because councils’ terms expire at December 3, 2022.
“Therefore, we filed an injunction which will take this matter—if they refuse it—to the Court of Appeal and Privy Council,” she said.
“You can’t set this case for January 2023, as this will make the matter—and whatever the courts orders in 2023—redundant, a waste of time.
“So, you have to go now before the term expires to deal with calling of elections.
“So, we applied for interim leave under Section 18 of the Judicial Review Act—an order that this application be deemed fit for urgent, expedited hearing.”
Persad-Bissessar said the interim injunction will restrain all who hold office as councillors and aldermen who were elected on December 2, 2019, pending determination of UNC’s matter.
“So, you won’t hold your offices. But I’m advising my councillors—don’t panic, you’ll have your chance again.”
The application also calls for the court’s case management directions last week to be varied to ensure the courts gives its ruling on or before December 3, 2022.
“They want to push you to 2023, so we’re going to fight them!”
She also said she received WhatsApp messages alleging PNM operators had “called in gang leaders,” offering contracts to have a cease fire because they want to end the current crime hike.
“That’s not the way to handle crime—you don’t reward criminals! I call on Government to say if it’s true. We’ll file Freedom of Information questions to find out who they’re giving these contracts to. I find this very, very disturbing ...their answer is to offer the gang leaders contracts?”
She also announced UNC’s holding a National Congress on December 4 in Couva (same day as PNM’s convention).
Persad-Bissessar, who said she had “a little sore throat,” shared her speaking time with activists.
MP Vandana Mohit questioned the whereabouts of the $1,000 one-off fuel grant promised in the 2023 Budget—following fuel price hikes—to 175,000 social assistance recipients.
Sean Sobers, meanwhile, said he attempted to listen the “horrendous” (sic) audio tape of the LMCS divers in the Paria pipeline, aired at the Commission of Enquiry into the Paria/LMCS Diving Tragedy.
“The level of torture they’d have endured—if that isn’t enough for a government to fall to its knees, demit office and call elections, I don’t know what will.”
MP Rudy Indarsingh, expressing anguish at the tape, said there must be no forgiveness for the PNM.
