THE OPPOSITION UNC has made good on its threat to file legal action against the Government over its decision to proclaim parts of recently passed Local Government Reform Bill that could allow for local government elections to be delayed by a year. The bill passed on June 14 with a simple majority in Parliament.
On Tuesday, attorneys for activist Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj filed the claim in the High Court. Balgobin-Maharaj said, as a voter in the Maracas/Santa Margarita electoral district, he is aggrieved by the decision taken by Cabinet and announced recently by Local Government and Rural Development Minister Faris Al-Rawi.
Balgobin-Maharaj gave the Government until 4 pm on November 14 to return to the original period for holding the election – previously due between December 2022 and March 2023 – or he will go to court for judicial review relief.
With no response forthcoming, his attorneys filed the action. The lawsuit said, “there is the real risk that councillors, aldermen, and mayors will be unlawfully occupying their respective offices from December 3, 2022.”
Now, he wants several orders and an injunction restraining all councillors and aldermen from acting beyond December 3.
The lawsuit contends the decision of the Cabinet was unauthorised, contrary to law and an abuse of power to “retrospectively apply an amendment to the law to increase the terms of councillors which ultimately delays the local government elections.”
The claim, which seeks declarations to put a stop to an alleged government plan to postpone the local election, said any attempt to delay it by retrospectively applying the amendments to the Municipal Corporations Act would be a fraud committed on the electorate, in bad faith, and would amount to improper use of the legislation.
Balgobin-Maharaj is also asking to court to quash the declaration that local government elections are now due between December 4, 2023, to March 4, 2024, and the decision to extend the term of office of all councillors and aldermen.
“The decision also denies the electorate of their legitimate expectation that the councillors (whom) they elected in 2019 would only be in office for a three-year term.
“Furthermore, those persons serving on the council have also been denied their legitimate expectation that they would only serve a three-year term.”
Any decision to change or amend the act, the lawsuit further contended, must be done expressly and unambiguously.
“In other words, whenever elections are to be denied or deferred it ought not to be done by inference, indirect consequence or implication. The laws ought to be interpreted in a way which facilitates the holding of elections unless the contrary intention is expressly shown.
“In a democratic society such as Trinidad and Tobago, laws must be interpreted and construed to facilitate the holding of elections; when elections are to be postponed(which should only be done in the most exceptional circumstances), the relevant legislative enactment must be unambiguous and express in its language, intent, an
