THE High Court has ruled in favor of the application for the dismissal of the petition filed against the Member of Parliament for Central Guadalcanal, Peter Shanel Agovaka.
The petition was filed by one of the eight contenders for the Central Guadalcanal Constituency Parliamentary Seat in the April 17 National General Election, Jeromy Manengelea Rex.
Mr Rex filed the petition based on three allegations of bribery by MP Agovaka through his agents and 14 counts of breaches of the Electoral Act 2018 by the Electoral Presiding Officer at the Belaha Polling Station and Chief Electoral Officer at the Henderson Courts Premises Polling Station.
On the first allegation of bribery, the petitioner submitted that MP Agovaka through an agent gave a 20kg bag of rice to a man to influence the man’s father and brothers to vote for him.
On the second allegation of bribery, the petitioner submitted that MP Agovaka through another of his agent gave another 20kg bag of rice to another man to influence two other persons to vote for him.
On the third allegation of bribery, the petitioner submitted that MP Agovaka through three of his agents interfered with ballot boxes and sacks by transporting them to the residence of one of the three agents where they were opened and interfered with the intention of forging ballot papers in favor of the MP.
On the allegations of breaches to the Electoral Act, the petitioner submitted 14 grounds of breaches of the Act by the Election Presiding Officer assigned to the Belaha Polling Station and the Chief Electoral Officer at the Henderson Court premises polling station, which he claimed had affected the result of the election.
However, in the application to the court to strike out the petition, MP Agovaka’s counsel, McChesney Ale from Rano and Company Barristers and Solicitors submitted that the petition in its entirety was frivolous and vexatious and therefore an abuse of the court process as it did not disclose any reasonable cause of action to nullify the election of MP Agovaka.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer upheld the submission by Mr Ale that the grounds provided for the petition were indeed frivolous and vexatious, lacking specificity and evidence and therefore upheld Agovaka as the duly elected MP for Central Guadalcanal.
MP Agovaka is serving his fifth consecutive term as the Parliamentary representative of Central Guadalcanal Constituency.
