Former Prime Minister and Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry’s application that he is eligible to contest this year’s general election, has been struck out by High Court Judge, Justice Kamal Kumar.
In his ruling, Justice Kumar said that the court does not have the jurisdiction to deal with the section of the constitution which Chaudhry based his application on.
The section of the constitution deals with the eligibility of a candidate for election to Parliament.
Justice Kumar also said that it was an abuse of the court process.
He also said that the court cannot order the candidate to be nominated as the power is with the Supervisor of Elections and the Electoral Commission.
The court has also ordered that Chaudhry pay $2,500 to the State and Attorney General within 14 days.
Chaudhry was not present in court.
Solicitor General Sharvada Sharma
Solicitor General, Sharvada Sharma had earlier stated in his strike out application that the court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the matter under the constitution.
He said the constitution is the supreme law of the land and must be enforced by the courts.
Sharma stated that the application made by Chaudhry is a challenge against a constitutional provision.
Sharma had earlier highlighted in court that there is no election at this stage as no writ has been issued and Chaudhry’s application is defective and should be struck out.
He told the court that the Electoral Commission, and the Supervisor of Elections have to declare who is eligible to contest the election and their decision is final and cannot be challenged, thus Chaudhry’s application cannot proceed.
Sharma says the only case the High Court has jurisdiction for are the post‑election matters.
He adds that if the application is granted it would open the floodgates and every person instead of going to the Supervisor of Elections and the Electoral Commission will come to the court.
Mahendra Chaudhry’s lawyer Anand Singh
Chaudhry’s lawyer Anand Singh told the court that they are not challenging the Electoral Act.
He says their submission is that the provision of the High Court is the fundamental right of the country and the court has the power to deal with the matters before it and the constitution cannot take that away.
Mahendra Chaudhry has stated that he plans to appeal the High Court ruling.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
