Friday morning at 11:00 (not 2:00 p.m. as we had previously reported), Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin is expected to reply to the request by Yolanda Schakron and Whylma White Munnings, a Lake I voter, to file an election petition challenging the election of Mark King on the basis that Schakron was unduly disqualified by returning officer Noreen Fairweather.
The Opposition People’s United Party (PUP), has filed two more election petitions, alleging that Lake I area representative Mark King and Albert area representative Herman Longsworth, had contracts with the Government which they failed to properly disclose before the elections.
Meanwhile, the ruling United Democratic Party has filed its first petition – challenging a key seat: that of Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca in the Freetown division, one of the more closely contested races. The losing UDP candidate, Lee Mark Chang, has deposed to the court that Fonseca won by bribery.
First to the second application by the PUP which challenges Mark King’s seat: Lisa Shoman, SC, who is representing the claimant, explained that yesterday, she filed an application to get the court’s permission to file the election petition, because they have learned that King, who has a security firm, Brints Security, of which he is the sole proprietor, has a contract for security services with GOB, and particularly to supply services for the Government of Belize at the Charles Bartlett Hyde Building in Belize City and the Sales Tax office in San Ignacio.
Shoman said that Section 58.1.h of the Belize Constitution states that a person who is a party to a contract with the Government shall, at least 1 month before the election date, declare the nature and existence of the contract and their interest in it. Such a notification, said Shoman, should be published in a newspaper that is circulated in the electoral division.
She noted that King’s contract with the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, was signed on July 27, 2011, and spans August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2013 for a price of $135,216. The contract (# 606 of 2011) would have to be attached to the election petition they propose to file, the attorney indicated.
When Amandala contacted Mark King today, he told us he has no comment on the matter, because he has not yet seen the filing.
An online listing for Brints Security Services does have King’s phone number as the company’s contact number.
Meanwhile, Said Musa, via his law firm Musa and Balderamos, is acting for losing PUP candidate David Craig, who is making similar allegations against Herman Longsworth in an application filed this morning.
Anthony Sylvester, Jr., who works out of Musa’s law firm, explained to our newspaper that the basis of Craig’s challenge is that Longsworth is managing director of L&V Construction Management Limited, which was contracted by the Government to construct the perimeter fence at the Marion Jones Sports Complex. That was also not published via newspaper notice before the elections, said Sylvestre.
Sylvestre said that the PUP case uses the same section 58 of the Belize Constitution under which the UDP had disqualified Mrs. Schakron, on account of her dual nationality.
Craig’s affidavit sets out the claim he is making to the court, saying that “The First named Respondent, at the time of the election was a manager in a company which is a party to a contract with the government of Belize and did not within one month before the day of the election publicly declare this and his interest of the company.”
The PUP also indicates that an action is pending against Santino Castillo, who won for the UDP in Caribbean Shores, but at press time, they had not indicated anything official to our newspaper. They are making similar allegations, that Castillo has a contract with the Government which was not declared via published notice before the election.
The ruling United Democratic Party fired back this afternoon when it filed a controversial application against Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca, alleging that Fonseca’s agents were actively bribing voters before and on election day for rewards ranging from $300 to $500.
The UDP’s legal counsel, Michael Young, SC, told our newspaper that he had filed the complaint, made by Lee Mark Chang and Kumarie Pooransingh, supported by 7 affidavits, most of them giving accounts of bribery.
In the notice of the application for leave, the applicants say that they are asking for “an order that the applicants hath leave to institute proceedings by way of an election petition for declarations that (a) the election of the respondent Francis W. Fonseca as the member of the House of Representatives for the Freetown electoral division held on the 7th of March 2012 (the “election”) is void (b) that the said respondent Francis Fonseca was not validly elected, and for orders and directions consequential thereto.”
Fonseca received 1,558 votes in the elections while Chang received 1,408—a difference of 150 votes.
The applicants say that, “By virtue of Section 46(c) of the Representation of the People Act, the election of a person as member of the House of Representatives shall be declared void where bribery was committed in connection with the election by the candidate or with his knowledge or consent or by any agent of the candidate.”
Chang and Pooransingh have filed against Fonseca and two of his agents, Albert Vaughan and Hughwellin Bodden.
Their application is supported by affidavits by Dylon Lockwood, 21; Janine Pandy, 19; Marvin Flowers, 36; Melbourne Harrison Wade, 19; Roger Pennil, 33; Melchizedek Silva, 20; and Stanley Woodye, Jr., 17.
Silva said in his affidavit: “After coming out of the polling station, I went to [the PUP agent]. At that time [he] was by the corner of St. Joseph and St. Thomas Streets [where there was another PUP Greeting Tent] and I showed him … the photo on my cell phone showing that I had voted in the box next to the blue [for Francis Fonseca] and [he] gave me $500.00 in five $100 bills.”
Meanwhile Flowers said: “On the day of election [the PUP agent] asked me if I made my mind up and told me to vote for the right man. He said he would give me $500.00. This was at about 1:30 p.m. I just laughed it off. I voted for Lee Mark Chang. My girlfriend still calls me stupid for not taking the money.”
Woodeye’s affidavit accuses Fonseca of offering a woman “something” for her vote, but did not specify any cash reward.
Amandala called Fonseca this evening for comments, but he indicated he could not hear us on the phone and hung up. We called him twice afterwards but got no response.
The court has not set dates for hearing the applications, after which it will indicate whether it will entertain the second request to challenge King’s candidacy, as well as the new petitions against Longsworth and Fonseca.