Court dismisses election petition cases against LLG leader

By GABRIEL FITO
THE Wewak District Court has dismissed two separate election petition cases challenging the victory of Wewak Rural local level government president Francis Hevu last year.
Petitioners Daniel Pirinduo and Jerry Junembary submitted to the court allegations of irregularities, errors, omissions by the polling officials and practices of undue influence and bribery.
Magistrate David Susame dismissed Pirinduo’s allegations of irregularities, errors and omission by polling officials after finding that they were not competent to go to trial.
Junembary said the picture of Wewak MP Jim Simatab on Hevu’s campaign poster influenced voters to tick his name.
But Susame said: “This particular petition unfortunately has not pleaded how the use of the posters and banners depicting the candidate aligning with or authorised by the Wewak Open MP is legally wrong or in breach of the election laws.
“What law has he breached? The argument that the use of banners and posters bearing the picture and authorisation of Simatab gave an unfair advantage over other candidates is a fallacy and does not have legal basis.”
On the allegation that Hevu paid K200 nomination fees for council candidates in Passam which resulted in him receiving 487 votes from that area, Susame said the facts pleaded did not state how the recipients influenced voters in their wards.
Junembary’s other arguments on errors and omissions were struck out as the final outcome of the discussion fell short of satisfying the mandatory requirement under section 208 of the Organic law on national and LLG elections.