HIGH Court judge Howard Lawry has refused to strike out the amended petition filed against the Member of Parliament (MP) for Northwest Guadalcanal Francis Sade and therefore the case will proceed to trial.
The petition was filed by the former MP Bodo Dettke after he lost the Northwest Guadalcanal Constituency parliamentary seat to the former Premier of Guadalcanal Province in the April 17 National General Election.
Judge Lawry in his ruling said, the alternative prayer to strike out or dismiss the petition is refused.
“The statements listed in the third prayer of the application are determined to be admissible and the plea to strike them out is refused.”
“The First Respondent (Sade) is to pay the costs of the Petitioner and of the Second and Third respondents, if not agreed, to be assessed,” Judge Lawry said.
The matter will be called again in court on Friday at 9am for a mention hearing.
Mr Dettke and his lawyer Gabriel Suri of Suri’s Law Practice initially filed the petition based on one count of Interference with Voting, one count of Undue Influence and three counts of Bribery.
However, they later withdrew some of the counts, except for one count of Bribery and one count of Interference with voting.
The petitioner also included Electoral Commissioner Officers – Returning Officer and Presiding Officer – as the Second Respondent and Third Respondent in this petition.
MP Sade and his lawyer made the application to strike out the petition on grounds that pleading is frivolous, vexatious, scandalous and is an embarrassment.
They asserted the petition lacks the likelihood of meeting the threshold of proof required in election petitions as the manner in which the petitioner pled the petition did not capture every element of the grounds alleged and the evidence filed is insufficient to meet the required standard to proceed to trial.
MP Sade is engaging Rano & Company.
MP Sade is the Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
