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Respondent’s preliminary objections
79.
The Respondent raises certain preliminary objections on both
admissibility and jurisdiction.
80.
The preliminary objections on admissibility:
80.1 Lack of exhaustion of local remedies
Article 6(2) of the Protocol, read together with Article 56 (5) of the
Charter, requires that for an application to this Court to be admissible, an
applicant must have exhausted local remedies. Article 6(2) of the
Protocol reads: “The Court shall rule on the admissibility of cases taking
into account the provisions of article 56 of the Charter.” In its turn, Article
56(5) of the Charter requires that applications shall be considered if they
“Are sent after exhausting local remedies, if any unless it is obvious that
this procedure is unduly prolonged .” The Respondent contends that the
Applicants have not done so. This is because, according to the
Respondent, the judgment of the Court of Appeal stated that the issue
relating to the prohibition of independent candidates had to be settled by
Parliament. Respondent also argues that the Government has prepared
and tabled the Constitutional Review Bill dated 11 March 2011, with a
view to setting up a mechanism for the constitutional review process. At
the time of the Applications the bill was awaiting its second and third
reading, before being enacted into law. Respondent argued that the
Appellate judgment of 17 June 2010, did not substantively deal with the
issue of independent candidates; the matter was left to Parliament and
this avenue has not yet been exploited. Respondent adds that
Parliament is yet to convene and deliberate on the matter. It further