Lawyer: Affidavits not required

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Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama at the High Court in Suva yesterday. Picture: RAMA

NEITHER the Electoral Act nor the court rules require affidavits to be filed with an electoral petition.

This was highlighted by lawyer Jon Apted in the case of SODELPA leader Sitiveni Rabuka and National Federation Party leader Biman Prasad who have filed a petition against 26 FijiFirst party parliamentarians, former FijiFirst MP Faiyaz Koya and Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem regarding the 2018 General Election results.

Mr Apted is representing Mr Rabuka and Mr Prasad alongside lawyers Filimoni Vosarogo and Simione Valenitabua.

Mr Apted said when the case would be called for further directions on Thursday, the petitioners would be seeking directions about witnesses.

He said that although the case was proceeding on the basis that affidavit evidence was required, neither the Electoral Act nor the court rules required affidavits to be filed with a petition.

Mr Apted said the Electoral Act only referred to the oral evidence of witnesses at the hearing.

He said the petition referred to affidavit evidence subject to the directions of the court. Judge Justice Kamal Kumar, who is hearing the case jointly with judge Justice Anjala Wati, asked Mr Apted why the petitioners had then filed two affidavits.

Mr Apted said the petitioners felt they had to file something with the petition.

Justice Wati asked the petitioners how many witnesses they were proposing.

Mr Apted said the petitioners had eight principal witnesses and there were also 108 people who said they had been deprived of the right to vote.

Mr Apted further said whether the 108 people would give evidence depended on how the Supervisor of Elections responded to the allegations in the petition about them.

To this, Solicitor-General Sharvada Sharma, who is appearing on behalf of the Supervisor of Elections, said there was no evidence that the 108 people had turned up to vote.

He said it was the petitioners who must get the evidence of this as the burden of proof was on them.

Mr Sharma said the Supervisor of Elections would do his level best to answer all the questions and would produce everything to assist the court. Justice Wati told the parties not to expect to call all the witnesses they had as the court may say that only certain witnesses would be allowed.

Justice Kumar earlier refused to take a memorandum of submissions from Mr Vosarogo about the preliminary directions that the petitioners were seeking and stated that the court would guide them.

Devanesh Sharma, who is representing the 27 FijiFirst respondents, including the former FijiFirst MP Faiyaz Koya, said the answers to the petition would be filed by tomorrow.

Justice Wati ordered that the respondents file their answers and any other affidavits on or before 3pm tomorrow.

The case has been adjourned to Thursday at 10am to fix a hearing date and to give further directions.

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