PNM explains its challenge to Padarath's candidacy

Clarifying the PNM's challenge to the eligibility of UNC candidate for Princes Town Barry Padarath, PNM chairman Colm Imbert said had one of his own party's candidates made an error on their nomination forms, their opponents would not hesitate to use it to their advantage.

At a press conference at Rust Street, Port of Spain on Monday, he confirmed a newspaper report that the PNM intends to challenge the validity of Padarath’s nomination because he used the wrong form on nomination day.

“I am certain if one of our candidates had misspelt their name or inadvertently used the wrong form, or something of that nature, the other side would not hesitate to go to court,” Imbert said. “The whole question of the nomination forms being sacrosanct is very important for our democracy.”

Imbert said there were similar cases in the past.

In 2001, there was a challenge to the eligibility of Winston "Gypsy" Peters and Bill Chaitan of the UNC on the basis that they had dual citizenship.

In the 2015 election, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) extended the time for voting by one hour owing to bad weather. The court upheld a UNC claim that the EBC had no legal power to do so.

The 2001 petition "didn’t finish because the Panday administration didn’t last very long,” Imbert explained. "It lasted for a year and there was an election in 2002. So that by the time the matter had come up it was moot. Government had been dissolved.”

In the 2015 petitions, Imbert said, as all the seats which were challenged, bar one, were won by thousands of votes, extending the time would not have affected the outcome, although the extension was not correct.

He explained seven days prior to nomination day, which was on July 17, the EBC held a “dry run” when returning officers in all 41 constituencies examined the nomination papers of the would-be candidates.

Officers looked at two different forms: one a statutory declaration in which the aspiring candidate declares his or her qualifications to be a candidate, such as being over 18 and not being a citizen of or swearing allegiance to another country; and the other a nomination paper which has the names of the people who proposed that person’s candidacy and a statement by the candidate that he or she consents to the nomination.

On the nomination paper, the law states:

“No nomination paper shall be valid or shall be acted upon by the returning officer unless it is accompanied by consent in writing of the person therein nominated or, where the person is absent from TT, by the consent of his duly authorised agent, expressed in duplicate in the form set out as form 37 or 38 as the case may be in the prescribed form rules.”

This means unless the candidate is incapacitated or outside the country, his nomination paper must be accompanied by written consent, or his application for candidacy will be invalid. In the event that he is out of the country, the candidate’s agent can give consent.

Padarath left TT for Florida in March, before government closed the country’s borders in response to the covid19 pandemic. He was not in TT on July 10, and his agent submitted his consent on his behalf.

But, the PNM submits, Padarath has been in the country from July 11, so he should have signed a consent form.

“Padarath used the wrong form, unfortunately,” Imbert said. “What we have found is the consent form was signed by his agent. We are satisfied that he didn’t use the right form.”

Imbert said, upon discovery of the error, the PNM sought legal advice and had a legal note on it.

Imbert said there was no requirement for the candidate to physically appear at the EBC office to submit the papers. He said because Padarath was in quarantine, someone could have taken the normal precautions, given him a consent form to sign, and delivered it to the returning officer.

Imbert said he was of the view that once the PNM informs the EBC in advance that a candidate has submitted the wrong form, thereby making his application invalid, the seat should be left for the other candidates to contest.

"I have seen what he has said. I don’t want to get into anything with him, but it is his responsibility to make sure that he knows which form to present.”

Sharon Baboolal, for the PNM, and Kim Young Low for the PEP are also contesting the seat.