BARBADOS | Bajans go to the polls on Wednesday after Court dismisses Election Challenge -

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, January 18, 2022 - Barbadians will go to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new government, following the decision of the High Court to late Tuesday evening dismissed the application to call off the election.

High Court Judge Madam Justice Cicely Chase Tuesday evening  ruled that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter and dismissed the application to call off the election.

Justice Chase in delivering her ruling, said that these matters should be heard before an election court. 

In an expansive ruling she declared that the case was inaccurately filed in the High Court and thus she was not in a position to determine.

Philip Catlyn of the Barbados Sovereignty Party had filed the application on the grounds that the exclusion of COVID-19 positive individuals from the election breaches Section 6 of the Representation of the People Act, which enshrines the right of eligible residents and citizens to vote.

Human rights attorney Lalu Hanuman who is representing Catlyn, insists the right to vote is a fundamental human right and therefore the case has merit.

However, Mottley in a speech Monday night rubbished the injunction filing, pointing out that Caribbean case law makes it clear that once the election writ has been promulgated the court has no powers to stop the elections. 

SHe expressed the view that this was the purview of the election court which could only rule after the elections have been held.

She also made it clear that the matter was not in the purview of the Prime Minister and rests squarely with the Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

A total of 108 candidates, representing seven political parties and nine independents are contesting the poll that political observers say will be a straight fight between the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) led by Mia Mottley and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by Verla DePeiza.