Goemba, Kerowa to remain as Hagen officers

Paul Goemba and Andrew Kerowa will remain as returning officer and assistant returning officer respectively for the Mt Hagen electorate.
This follows a Supreme Court decision on Saturday, which refused to stay their appointments made by Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato, pictured, on Jan 31.
Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia, presiding as sole Supreme Court judge, refused to grant a stay to a national court decision which refused to grant leave to two citizens of Mt Hagen electorate, James Yoka Ekip and Simon Sanagke, where they sought to review the decision made by Gamato to appoint Goemba and Kerowa as returning officer and assistant returning officer for Mt Hagen electorate.
The Supreme Court also refused to grant interim restraining orders sought by Ekip and Sanagke to restrain Goemba and Kerowa from performing their duties.
Sir Salamo was of the view that if the court granted the orders, it would affect the general election in two weeks.
He said though the court was satisfied that Ekip and Sanagke had raised serious issues that needed to be fully determined by the court, the balance of convenience but overall interest of justice favoured the refusal of the orders sought.
The court noted that Ekip and Sanagke filed the judicial review case as private citizens of Mt Hagen electorate and also as intending candidates.
The court noted that there was no evidence to show that Ekip and Sanagke had been nominated and registered as candidates to contest the Mt Hagen open seat.
The court noted that as private citizens, they were not eligible to challenge a decision of a higher authority which dealt with public interest.
Sir Salamo said Ekip and Sanagke must have representative capacity to file public interest law suit because the decisions that the court would make would directly affect the interest of the public.