Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin today denied an application made to the Supreme Court by Yolanda Schakron, Lake I political aspirant for the Opposition People’s United Party, to file an election petition to challenge the decision by Returning Officer Noreen Fairweather to refuse her nomination paper following an objection made by a voter, alleging Schakron’s disqualification due to her dual Belizean-American nationality.
Schakron’s attorneys, Godfrey Smith, SC, and Lisa Shoman, SC, had contended to the court that the returning officer had no jurisdiction to consider her nationality—that this matter is solely the purview of an election judge assigned by the Supreme Court.
However, on nomination day, February 17, 2012, Supreme Court Justice Oswell Legall had denied Schakron’s request for an injunction to stop Fairweather from refusing her application due to her dual nationality. Legall had declared that the returning officer could consider Schakron’s nationality in deciding whether to accept or reject her nomination.
It was on the basis of Legall’s ruling that Schakron’s application before CJ Benjamin was turned down. Justice Benjamin said that the applicants should not be allowed to re-litigate the decision, even though that decision may be wrong. A decision by the court is binding until upset by an appeal, and it is on record that Schakron had not appealed the Legall ruling.
Benjamin went on to disagree with the position by the applicants that the case lodged before Legall and the case lodged before him are two different matters. He pointed out that the main parties – Yolanda Schakron and Noreen Fairweather – are common to both cases.
He said that the Schakron application is, therefore, denied, and granted costs to the respondents, Mark King, Noreen Fairweather and the Government of Belize, of $5,000 to be paid by both claimants, Schakron and Whylma White Munnings, one of the six voters who nominated Schakron.
Responding to the Chief Justice’s decision, Denys Barrow, SC, the attorney who represented the respondents, said he is very pleased with the outcome.
After the decision was announced on Friday morning, Schakron was asked whether she has now renounced her US citizenship. She had not yet completed the process on nomination day.
“I would not like to comment on the US citizenship right now. The case before us is more important. Yolanda Schakron will go nowhere,” said Schakron, adding that she is not discouraged from running again.
Asked if her client could run again if there were to be a by-election for Lake I, Shoman said this is highly speculative and it is far too early to respond to that question.
She said that at this time, they want to satisfy the court that Mark King is disqualified, because of an undisclosed contract he has had for security services to the Government of Belize.
Schakron’s brother, Martin Galvez, has sought the court’s permission to file an election petition on those grounds. The case was initially scheduled to begin today, Friday, but it has been postponed to Tuesday, April 3, at 2:00 p.m.
Shoman said that the PUP will file more petitions before the deadline of Tuesday, April 10, 2012.
She also said that they would consider whether they should appeal the Legall ruling.