Judgment No. SC 69/15 11
Civil Appeal No. SC 9/14
b.
The petition has since been heard, and at the time this appeal was argued,
judgment on it stood reserved. The petition was heard without the benefit of
the evidence the appellant wished to extract from the boxes and packets in
question. To be specially noted in this respect is the fact that the Electoral
Court must determine every election petition within 6 months from the date of
its presentation. This is by virtue of s182 of the Act, which I find to properly
fall within the ambit of s157(1(g)of the Constitution4
c.
The application a quo was properly founded upon the pendency of the petition
that the applicant had filed under a different case in the Electoral Court. In
other words the application had to be heard and determined while the petition
was concurrently pending a determination.
d.
Given this circumstance, it becomes evident that the foundation upon which
the application could stand and be sustained ceased to exist when the hearing
of the petition was concluded and judgment on it reserved. In that sense, the
petition became a fait accompli. To that extent, a remittal of the matter to the
court a quo would serve no legal purpose.
e.
Lastly one may mention the fact that because the petition was heard, (and
possibly determined by now) on a basis other than the material sought to be
accessed from the sealed boxes, any link it might have had to the application
in casu ceased to exist. The petition can properly be determined on
appeal,(should there be one), without reference to the application and the relief
sought therein.
4
It provides that an Act of Parliament must provide for the conduct of elections and referendums (sic) to which
the constitution applies, in particular for matters listed therein, which include ‘challenges to elections’ (my
emphasis)