The Alliance for Change election petition court file which had gone missing in the High Court has resurfaced a week after the party noted its frustration with the system and had registered deep concern over the lost file.
Chairman of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan said he was informed by Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang that the file was located following an “active search of the court records” and a date would be set soon for the hearing to commence.
The Justice Chang had recently called on Ramjattan to assist in reconstructing the entire record of pleadings in the case since the case file had gone missing. Ramjattan said the party was pleased to hear that the file has been found, adding that “this is good news”.
But the party anticipates a long court battle when the case is called again for second time in the High Court. Ramjattan said the new proceedings could easily turn out like the initial one, stating that certain delay tactics were employed by the administration and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to prolong the case. He had previously explained that a series of preliminary points had been raised during the initial hearings of the case that had commenced before then Chief Justice, Carl Singh, which according to him were devised at delaying the substantive hearing.
Ramjattan stated that GECOM could have easily “gone to court and conceded after we filed the petition but it chose not to”, adding that the elections body intended to drag the matter out. Similarly, he said, the PPP/C could have conceded the Region 10 parliamentary seat which is in dispute.
AFC has maintained that it is the clear winner of the Region 10 seat citing the certified statements of poll which was given to the party by GECOM.