Itula blasts registrar, demands hearing
OGONE TLHAGE
Presidential candidate Panduleni Itula remains unrelenting in his efforts to have the Supreme Court review its ruling that refused to nullify last year’s presidential election, although finding that using electronic voting machines (EVMs) without a verifiable paper trail was unconstitutional.
Itula wants the highest court in the land to review its ruling, but was taken aback yesterday by a letter from the Supreme Court registrar which said the matter had been finalised and that his review application would not be entertained.
Itula, through his lawyer Elize Angula, said the registrar does not have the authority to inform him of the status of the review application and questioned why it was struck from the roll.
“Your response significantly does not purport to be written on behalf of the five judges comprising the court empanelled to hear the matter and who delivered the judgement to which the notice pertains,” Angula wrote to the registrar.
“In any event, to our client’s knowledge, the five judges have not convened (least of all in an open court, and accordingly with the parties in any hearing) to deal with the notice and supporting affidavits, and now answering and replying affidavits filed by all active parties.
“Nor, equally, does your letter purport to have been addressed to us at the behest of the chief justice. Thus, the letter is not from the chief justice,” the Angula’s letter added.
Itula said through Angula that no statute nor rule of the court vests the registrar with the power to pronounce upon a proceeding in the terms set out in the letter sent to Itula.
When contacted for comment yesterday, Itula simply said: “I trust that it is served.” He was referring to the letter from Angula to the Supreme Court registrar.
On 5 February, Chief Justice Peter Shivute handed down the highly publicised judgement which found that the use of EVMs without a verifiable paper trail was unconstitutional, but which said there was no evidence of mass manipulation of the results that could have affected the poll outcome.
President Hage Geingob garnered 56.3% of the presidential vote, a massive decline from the 87% he received in 2014, while Itula received nearly 30% of the vote. If Geingob had received less than 50+1% of the vote, an automatic rerun would have occurred.
Shivute and justices Sylvester Mainga, Dave Smuts and Elton Hoff and acting judge of appeals Bess Nkabinde declined to nullify the poll and order a rerun.
Presidential candidate Panduleni Itula remains unrelenting in his efforts to have the Supreme Court review its ruling that refused to nullify last year’s presidential election, although finding that using electronic voting machines (EVMs) without a verifiable paper trail was unconstitutional.
Itula wants the highest court in the land to review its ruling, but was taken aback yesterday by a letter from the Supreme Court registrar which said the matter had been finalised and that his review application would not be entertained.
Itula, through his lawyer Elize Angula, said the registrar does not have the authority to inform him of the status of the review application and questioned why it was struck from the roll.
“Your response significantly does not purport to be written on behalf of the five judges comprising the court empanelled to hear the matter and who delivered the judgement to which the notice pertains,” Angula wrote to the registrar.
“In any event, to our client’s knowledge, the five judges have not convened (least of all in an open court, and accordingly with the parties in any hearing) to deal with the notice and supporting affidavits, and now answering and replying affidavits filed by all active parties.
“Nor, equally, does your letter purport to have been addressed to us at the behest of the chief justice. Thus, the letter is not from the chief justice,” the Angula’s letter added.
Itula said through Angula that no statute nor rule of the court vests the registrar with the power to pronounce upon a proceeding in the terms set out in the letter sent to Itula.
When contacted for comment yesterday, Itula simply said: “I trust that it is served.” He was referring to the letter from Angula to the Supreme Court registrar.
On 5 February, Chief Justice Peter Shivute handed down the highly publicised judgement which found that the use of EVMs without a verifiable paper trail was unconstitutional, but which said there was no evidence of mass manipulation of the results that could have affected the poll outcome.
President Hage Geingob garnered 56.3% of the presidential vote, a massive decline from the 87% he received in 2014, while Itula received nearly 30% of the vote. If Geingob had received less than 50+1% of the vote, an automatic rerun would have occurred.
Shivute and justices Sylvester Mainga, Dave Smuts and Elton Hoff and acting judge of appeals Bess Nkabinde declined to nullify the poll and order a rerun.
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