That the taking of the poll in the general election of
members of the House of Representatives held on the 18th
day of December, 1997 is void in respect of polling
divisions 23, 49, 56, 57, 58, 60, 64, 71 and 72 in the
constituency of West Central St. Andrew.
"(A)
(B) That the taking of the poll in the general election of
members of the House of Representatives held on the 18th
day of December, 1997 is void in respect of the
constituency of West Central St. Andrew."
The motion was presented and argued on the following grounds, namely :1
"(1) That ballot boxes were stolen and/or destroyed
and/or tampered with and the number of electors on the list
of electors for the polling stations in polling divisions 49,
64, 71 and 72 is more than the difference in the number of
votes cast for the candidate declared the winner and the
candidates who were not declared the winner.
(2) That votes were polled by persons who were not
bona fide electors thereby casting doubt on the integrity of
the votes counted for the candidate declared elected.
(3) That there was an upsurge of violence and/or
irregularities during election day in one or more polling
divisions in the constituency and/or in the constituency
which led to a substantial distortion or subversion of the
process of free and fair election."
On March 5, 1998, in a judgment announced by Wolfe C.J. we granted the declarations
sought, save for the declaration sought in respect of polling division No. 60, and
promised to put our reasons for so doing in writing at a later date. What follows are my
own reasons for concumng with this judgment.
,
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At the outset of these proceedings counsel for the successfbl candidate,
Andrew Holness, took a preliminary objection the grounds of which were stated as