Petition objections to be heard

By MELYNE BAROI
THE National Court in Waigani is expected to hear objections to former Esa’ala MP Davis Steven’s petition against MP Jimmy Maladina next month.
Judge Ere Kariko said he would hear the objections by Maladina and the Electoral Commission (EC) challenging Steven’s amended petition, after endorsing a consent draft order by the three parties last Friday.
The order also directs a National Court Registry staff in Waigani, Mathew Bae, to produce a statement attesting to whether Steven filed his amended petition in time as prescribed by National Court Rules.
It was noted that the petition is pending trial on allegations of illegal practices or undue influence by Maladina that affected his reign.
On July 4, Steven told the court that he had made some changes to the original petition.
This prompted Maladina and the second respondent, being the EC, to file amended objections to the petition.
After discussions by the three parties, they handed up their consent draft order to Judge Kariko last Friday.
Earlier this year, Justice Oagile Key Dingake dismissed Maladina’s application to review a National Court decision by Judge Joseph Yagi, saying issues of incompetency could be dealt with at trial.
It was noted that the outcome of the objections next month would determine whether the petition would proceed to trial.