THE election petition case against the Member of Parliament (MP) for Baegu-Asifola Constituency, Makario Tagini has been struck out on the basis that the petitioner failed to comply with one of the electoral rules.
Judge Howard Lawry, on Wednesday, struck out the petition filed by Celsus Talifilu for non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of Electoral laws, specifically Rule 6 (1) of the Electoral Act Petition Rules 2019.
Talifilu was one of the contestants for the Baegu-Asifola Parliamentary seat in the April 2024 National General Election (NGE).
Rule 6(1) of the Electoral Act Petition Rules 2019 provides an outline of what should be included in an election petition and that is:
An election petition shall, (a) state the right of the petitioner to petition;
(b) state the holding and result of the election;
(c) briefly state the facts and grounds relied on to sustain the orders sought;
(d) include a statement of the address within the jurisdiction for service of the petitioner, and the contact details of the petitioner, or of his advocate or agent; and
(e) clearly identify the respondent or respondents to the petition together with their usual or last known address.
In this case, the petition failed to comply with Rule 6 (1) (e).
Lloyd FitzReggie of Rano & Company, who represented MP Makario, filed for the strike out the petition last December to which the counsel for the petitioner accepted.
Earlier, Judge Lawry had set a two-day trial that should commence on February 5.
However, due to the preliminary issues regarding the application to strike out the amended petition, parties had to address this matter before the court could determine whether the case would proceed to trial or be dismissed.
On Wednesday, Judge Lawry ruled that the remaining seven bribery allegations be dismissed, which effectively means the end of the case.
Mr Talifilu initially filed the petition based on 13 grounds of Election bribery, but later dropped three grounds due to insufficient evidence.
MP Makario then applied to strike out the amended petition, claiming that the pleadings were frivolous and vexatious and could not sustain the case at trial.
Last September, Judge Lawry struck out three grounds, but refused to strike out the rest, which were set for hearing this week.
However, following the recent application to strike out the petition due to the non-compliance with electoral rules and the petitioner’s decision not to oppose it, the case is now dismissed.
Lily Ramo of Justlaw Attorneys represents Talifilu. Talifilu contested for the Baegu-Asifola Parliamentary Seat under the Iumi 4 Change Party led by the MPA for West Baegu-Fataleka Ward in Malaita Province. He served as Premier of Malaita Province from June 2019 to February 2023 and Talifilu served as his Political Adviser.
MP Makario is the Minister for Forestry and Research. He was first elected into Parliament in the 2019 NGE.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
