Court to decide if Hela petitions will survive

The Waigani National Court will give its ruling on Monday if the two petitions that are disputing Philip Undialu’s election as Hela Governor can continue to trial stage where evidence will be called.

Justice Ellenas Batari, over the last two days, heard submissions over objections challenging the competency of the two petitions that Francis Potape and Dr Hewali Hemia filed.

After lengthy submissions today, he reserved his ruling to next week.

If the petitions survive, the matters will proceed to the next stage, which will see evidence being called by the petitioners in separate hearings. 

Lawyers for Undialu and the Electoral Commission submitted today that the petition Potape filed is incompetent and should be dismissed because Potape did not state in the petition, what the Returning Officer actually failed to do that would amount to grounds of error and omission.

Potape is challenging the final process of the election which led to Undialu being declared as per the writ.

He also alleged there was no quality check done prior to commencement of elimination and is challenging the end result of the election process.

His lawyer, Paul Othas, said it is mainly to do with the non-compliance of section 175 (return of writs) of the Organic Law on National and Local Level Government Elections.

He asked the court to make findings into what happened on the issue of the governor’s election and is necessary for the matter to proceed to trial for evidence to be presented.

Undialu’s lawyer, Goiye Gileng, submitted the court of disputed forum is not an open court for unspecified claims that may result in the invalidation of an election.

Instead, he said pleadings drive evidence and nowhere in the petition pleadings were the final figures indicated.

He added that figures are relevant material facts that must be established if errors and omission is pleaded in a petition.

Author: 
Sally Pokiton