The United Workers Party (UWP) is soliciting for financial help and assistance from members of the public after losing a legal battle against the DLP administration. UWP’s PRO, Steve Benjamin, urged party supporters and independent stakeholders to help the opposition party with money so that they can continue to meet their obligations in the country.
Benjamin said the UWP needs money to prosecute cases in the courts, and that there is no way the party could remain financially bouyant enough for continued operations without public support and financial assistance. He noted that the opposition had filed several lawsuits against the ruling party but the defendants have been favoured by the courts over time.
Meanwhile, Justice Raulston Glasgow has dismissed the 10 petitions filed by the UWP against the DLP and even charged them a $5,000 fine. At the Dominica High Court on Wednesday, October 15, Justice Glasgow threw out the cases for lack of merit and ruled that the administration has no case to answer as sought by the opposition.
The UWP had urged the court to invalidate the December 2019 election results in 10 constituencies which are St. Joseph, Mahaut, Morne Jaune, La Plaine, Castle Bruce, Salybia, Roseau Valley, Roseau Central, Roseau South, and Wesley. The opposition said the election was riddled with bribery, voters intimidation, election irregularities, importation of electors, officials misconducts, and treating among others.
The case had earlier been assigned to Justice Bernie Stephenson and Justice Eddie Ventose, but they recused themselves from the litigation. And ultimately, the OECS Supreme Court appointed Justice Raulston Glasgow to hear the case. The DLP was represented by Senior Counsel Anthony Astaphan.
The government attorney said he was not surprised that the case was thrown out since it lacked merit in many areas. He pointed out that the prosecutors failed as required by law to mention the names of any voters bought by the DLP, the amount they were bribed with, and the exact circumstances and proofs of irregularities. He noted that even in an assumed case of electoral irregularity, the election results cannot be voided since the petitioners only indicated alleged breaches.
“All of the allegations have been thrown out in a meticulous way,” Astaphan said. “The judge went through every allegation that were common to all petitions and the diversion allegations that were made separately in individual allegations. The judge who also expressed his dissatisfaction with the nature of the allegations that were filed ordered the petitioners to pay $5,000 cost.”
The UWP is yet to fully respond to this legal loss to the DLP administration.
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