Judicial Foot Dragging?

• 31 July 2018
• 0 comments

The general election is now quite a while in the past. Clearly the PH government has a mountain of problems with which to deal. Among the most urgent is to establish the true final result of GE14.

A large number of election petitions have been filed within the delay prescribed by law and must therefore be heard and decided upon. So far none have been processed.

There may be a shortage of judges able and free to hear these petitions. If that is the sole reason for the delay the new Chief Justice can and should deal with that problem. Senior and experienced lawyers can be appointed as Judicial Commissioners to enable the early hearing of these petitions.

All else apart, evidence in such cases does not keep well or for ever. They must be heard as soon as possible after the polling and while the evidence is still fresh. No current judicial task is more important than the speedy resolution of these petitions. The voters are entitled to know the final result in areas where they voted but the result is still disputed. So early action should be the watchword.