State v Supervisor of Elections, Ex parte Narsey [1997] FJHC 105; Hbj0016p.1997s (5 August 1997)

Fiji Islands - The State v The Supervisor of Elections, Ex parte Narsey - Pacific Law Materials

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI

AT SUVA

CIVIL JURISDICTION

JUDICIAL REVIEW NO. 0016 OF 1997

The State

v.

The Supervisor of Elections

ex-parte Wadan Lal Narsey

p class=MsoNormal>PRELIMINARY RULING

This application concerns the refusal of the Supervisor of Elections to enrol the late application of the applicant seeking to be registered as a voter on the electoral roll in order that he might thereby qualify to stand as a candidate in an impending by-election to fill the seat for the Suva City Central Indian Constituency which became vacant in February this year.

The application is in form, one seeking a 'judicial review' of the refusal of the Supervisor of Elections to exercise a discretion and raises important and fundamental issues concerning the 'registration of voters'; 'voters rights' and the 'right to be a candidate' in parliamentary elections in this country.

The judgment in this case is still in its draft stages and detailed reasons will be delivered later, but, having regards to the time constraints and the practical realities under which both parties must operate, I have decided to issue this preliminary ruling.

Having carefully considered this matter in the context of the particular circumstances of the case, I have arrived at the clear conclusion, that the Supervisor of Elections, in refusing to exercise his discretion to deal with the applicant's late registration to vote under the 'proviso' to Regulation 6(3) of the Electoral (Registration) Regulation 1992 misdirected himself in law and disabled himself by improperly pursuing "consistency at the expense of the merits of (the applicant's) case".

Accordingly an order of certiorari shall issue to quash the decision of the respondent contained in his letter of 10th June, 1997, refusing to exercise his discretion in the applicant's favour.

D.V. Fatiaki
JUDGE

At Suva,
5th August, 1997.

Hbj0016p.97s