Case filed to delay general election

Attorney at Law, Lalu Hanuman has filed two applications in the Court of Appeal, one of which is seeking an injunction to delay tomorrow’s general election.

Mr. Hanuman is representing St. Thomas candidate for the Barbados Sovereignty Party, Phillip Catlyn.

The application filed, which is being heard today, is suggesting that unless the matter involving thousands of registered voters barred from participating in the election because they are in isolation or quarantine is resolved by close of business today, the election should be postponed until a time when such people can vote.

The second application is a claim for a judicial review of the use of the President’s powers to dissolve Parliament and issue electoral writs, during a pandemic.

Mr. Hanuman contends the Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the COVID Monitoring Unit and the Chief Medical Officer should have been contacted to see whether it was feasible to hold an election at this time, particularly since it’s not constitutionally due until next year.

Mr. Hanuman has denied any ulterior motives in filing these applications other than upholding people’s right to vote, which he says is a basic human right.

As for the timing, he says he was only retained on Sunday so the earliest time to file was yesterday.

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