Judge gives all clear for inspection of St Mary SE election documents
Published:Thursday | June 2, 2016 | 4:02 PMLivern Barrett
Lawyers for the two candidates who contested the St Mary South East constituency in the February 25 general election are to return to the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) today to resume inspection of all relevant documents related to the poll.
High Court judge Justice Andrew Rattray yesterday morning cleared the way for the resumption when he issued a consent order in the election petition filed by Jamaica Labour Party candidate Dr Norman Dunn.
Dunn is seeking to overturn the decision of a parish judge to declare People's National Party (PNP) candidate Dr Winston Green the winner of the parliamentary election.
COURT ORDER
Earlier this year, Dunn obtained a court order that allowed his legal team to inspect all relevant electoral documents for the constituency, including poll books as well as ballots that were spoiled or rejected. However, attorney-at-law Anthony Williams, who is part of the legal team representing Green, said confusion arose when both sides began inspecting the documents at the EOJ.
According to Williams, the issues highlighted ambiguity in the court order and raised questions about what documents could be inspected.
He said the consent order issued yesterday morning would provide both sides with access to all relevant documents related to the election and sets out how they can be photocopied.
Williams said the inspection of documents was set to be completed by the end of next month and the trial is scheduled to start in September.