Privy Council to rule on UNC's local government election lawsuit

ATTENTION will be focused on the Privy Council today (Thursday) which is expected to deliver its ruling in the legal challenge over the Government’s move to extend the term of local government representatives by a year.

The decision of Lords Lord Robert Reed - president of the UK’s Supreme Court -and Lord Patrick Hodge - deputy president of the court- along with Lords Michael Briggs, David Kitchin and David Richards, is expected to be delivered at 8.30 am TT time or 1.30 pm UK time at a hearing which will be live-streamed on the Privy Council’s website.

There was a last-minute change to the way the decision will be delivered, departing from its usual promulgation process.

In March, the judges heard arguments in the final appeal of UNC activist Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj’s challenge over the postponement of the local government election.

In the appeal, Maharaj contended that Justice Jacqueline Wilson and the Appeal Court got it wrong by consecutively rejecting his case in November 2022 and February 2023.

Balgobin-Maharaj had complained about the passage of amendments in 2022 which extended the term of local government councillors to four years and also allowed the election to be delayed by a year.

The election was due between December 2022 and March 2023, but the partial proclamation of local-government reform legislation allowed the extension of the terms of councillors and aldermen to four years.

The amendments had been passed without Opposition support.

In his complaint, Balgobin-Maharaj said he became concerned after Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi hosted a press conference and announced the Government's intention to proclaim certain sections of the legislation.

The sections of the legislation identified by Al-Rawi sought to increase the terms of councillors from three years to four years.

Balgobin-Maharaj contended that Al-Rawi misinterpreted the effect of the legislation when he announced plans to apply it to incumbent councillors and aldermen. He maintained it did not have a retroactive effect.

Balgobin-Maharaj was represented by a team of attorneys led by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan.

In its decision in February, the Appeal Court, in a unanimous ruling, held that the constitutional right to vote only applied to general elections and not local government elections as contended by Maharaj's legal team.

The judges- Justices of Appeal Prakash Moosai, Gillian Lucky and James Aboud - also agreed with the State’s contention that there was nothing in the Constitution which said citizens had to vote three years after the last local government election.

In her ruling, Wilson held that although there was a serious issue to be tried, she was refusing the application for a temporary injunction to prevent councillors elected on December 2, 2019, from holding office beyond three years (December 3, 2022), in the interest of justice because of the potential impact to the disruption of services provided by local government bodies.

At the Court of Appeal, it was agreed the court would hear arguments on Balgobin-Maharaj’s substantive challenge which he eventually lost leading him to take his complaint to the Privy Council.

Douglas Mendes, SC, Rishi Dass, SC, and Anala Mohan appear for the Cabinet and the local government minister.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced the opening of nominations for candidates from his People’s National Movement (PNM) for the 2023 local government election. The PNM later said Dr Rowley issued the call at a general council meeting on May 1.

It also said the local government election was “imminent.”

Since then, the other political parties, including the Opposition UNC, have opened nominations for the election.

On Monday, Al-Rawi said the date for the election will depend on the Privy Council’s ruling.

"We must await the Privy Council's decision. As you know that will be delivered on Thursday. All I can say is that both main political parties – Government and the Opposition – have already made calls for nominations etcetera, some time ago."

He said as minister his focus was on implementation.

"So we'll have to abide by the position.

"Quite frankly, to me, it makes little import. We all know there's an election ahead of us. As to when that is, we'll await the Privy Council's direction…”