Trotman want to know how many more witnesses to be called
When the first hearing of the elections petition for the year 2000 got underway yesterday, the attorney appearing for the petitioner urged counsel for the Chief Election Officer (CEO) to indicate how many more witnesses they intended to summon. Following the Christmas break, Raphael Trotman, counsel for the petitioner, Esther Perreira said that the "nation needs to know whether this matter will ever end?" Justice Claudette Singh presiding over the petition also urged Jeaneanime Munroe, to enquire of senior counsel Doodnauth Singh, who was not present in court, as to their timetable. Singh and Munroe are appearing for CEO Stanley Singh. Perreira has named the CEO and leaders of political parties that contested the 1997 elections as the respondents. Trotman said that this was not an unreasonable request since the petition which started back in September of 1998 has now gone down in Guyanese legal history as having the most continuous witnesses -over 180. Four more witnesses were called by lawyers for the CEO including Masood Ahmad, a PPP polling agent at Lusignan West. Trotman cross-examining, suggested that Ahmad had not been truthful in telling the court that he had worked at a polling place belonging to B.M. Soat when on the Statement of Poll (SOP) the residence was identified as belonging to one Mohamed Mustapha. Ahmad attempted to explain that the residence was in the compound of the car dealer. Trotman then had Ahmad look at a document sent to the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs on December 5th 1997 by CEO Singh detailing the places and names of polling places and presiding officers. Ahmad was unable to identify his polling station. He was also forced to concede that the tally sheet he had brought to court could not be accepted as evidence as it did not have his signature on it. Next up was Chatterpaul Singh, a canecutter and PPP polling agent at Lusignan Primary School during the 1997 election. Under cross- examination by Trotman he admitted that his copy of the tally sheet had not been signed by the presiding officer and was forced to choose the signed document submitted to the court by the Returning Officer for Region Four, Henry Europe as the legal one. Similarly Singh was unable to locate his polling station on the aforementioned document sent to the PS of Home Affairs. Ruth Sanasie a PPP polling agent at the residence of Kampta Persaud of Industry when questioned by Trotman could not explain the large difference in signatures of the Presiding Officer Marcel Jones on her copy of the tally sheet and that on the one submitted to the court by Europe. She declared that her tally sheet should be accepted allowing Trotman to ask the court to reject Europe's submission. Elme Ishmael who observed polling at St Sidwell's as a PPP agent, despite her best attempts could not find the name of a presiding officer, one Holly Yarris who had signed her tally sheet, on the same document sent to the PS of Home Affairs before the elections. Trotman asked her if she still wished the court to accept her sheet signed by Yarris without legal authority for her to be the presiding officer of that polling station. Ishmael quietly said that the court should not accept the document. The four will be back for more today when they are to be cross- examined by Rex McKay SC who is counsel for one of the respondents, PNC leader Hugh Desmond Hoyte. The long-running petition was brought by Perreira on the grounds that the 1997 elections process was so flawed that it could not be said to accurately reflect the will of the electorate. (William Walker)
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