BELMOPAN, Belize, Mar 5, CMC – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has dismissed an effort by at least one individual to block the March 12, general election, saying that it was absolutely without merit, Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay has said.
Trinidad and Tobago former attorney general, Anand Ramlogan SC, who is representing Jeremy Enriquez, had sought to have the matter heard by the CCJ, the country’s highest and final court, even as it is currently with the Court of Appeal here.
Earlier this week, the court held a case management hearing and decided that both sides would make their submissions this week and early next week.
But late Monday evening, Ramlogan filed for special leave to appeal to the CCJ. However, on Tuesday, the CCJ ruled that the application lacked merit and denied special leave.
Courtenay, representing the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, described Ramlogan’s CCJ application as “forum shopping.
“It was very obvious because of his pertinence and impudence that Mr. Ramlogan did not like the way the court granted its order. Without saying anything to anybody we received an application by him for special leave, directly to the CCJ.”
Courtenay said that the CCJ dismissed the application “saying it was absolutely without merit. “The matter is before the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal has not even grappled with it, yet because it gave directions that was not to his liking because of timing, he thought he would go to the Caribbean Court of Justice.”
Courtenay said in his opinion “it is a clear case of what lawyers call forum shopping.
“If you don’t like this court, you will run to a next one. It was transparent and obvious and entirely without merit. In order for you to appeal there are some procedural hurdles that has to be completed.
“He attempted and the court entertained him, he attempted to jump over those hurdles without completing them. The court entertained him and said well we have to file evidence. You have an application, there has to be evidence and submissions and both sides.
“Those orders were given. The result of those orders is that it was unlikely that his application would have been heard by twelfth of Match. He felt that the Court of Appeal was frustrating Mr. Enriquez’s claim,” Courtenay said.
For his part, Enriquez told reporters that his attorney filed the last-minute special application to the CCJ because they were worried, they wouldn’t get a Court of Appeal hearing before March 12.
“The rational for taking this to the CCJ was that we were very concerned that if we did not receive a hearing before the day of the election then there would be attempts to moot our entire case or just call it off.
“So we wanted to, we were seeking to just make a point in having the government recognize the violation of the constitution that is consistently being done over the past years, especially since the last election when this government promised to ensure there was proper revision of our electoral division,” Enriquez said.
“We recognize from the beginning this was not going to be an easy battle. This was an uphill battle, given the short time that we had to call the government to task to be accountable for their actions.
“This is not the first time that this political party, administration faced the court for re-division, the first time being before the last election which they joined forces with the previous administration to find ways to stop the re-division before elections.
“So the other case is still before the court with the Belize Peace Movement. I will have to get back to the drawing board with my attorney to see how we proceed, but the question remain, who the Belizean people turn to when their constitutional rights are consistently violated,” he added.
Political observer had said that by calling the elections on March 12, Prime Minister John Briceño had done so amid ongoing debates about the need for redistricting.
The Belize Peace Movement (BPM) and other advocacy groups have been vocal about the constitutional requirement for redistricting before any new elections.
The leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), Shyne Barrow, had also called on the authorities to conduct “a meaningful and fair redistricting” exercise before the next general election that had been expected by November this year.
“The UDP joins the Belize Peace Movement, Jeremy Enriquez, Rudolph Norales and Jessica Tulcey in their fight for redistricting to be completed before the general election is called and we implore all democratic allies of Belize, civil society, social activists and guardians of democracy everywhere to join in this fight. Equal representation matters in our sacred Democracy.”
Ramlogan had requested that the government provide at least five days’ notice before announcing the date of the general election
But in its response, the law firm Courtenay Coye acknowledged receipt of Ramlogan’s letter, dated February 6, 2025, noting that he had demanded a commitment from the prime minister by 4.00 pm (local time) on the Friday.
In a letter to Ramlogan, the law firm maintained that the National Assembly had already considered redistricting proposals, fulfilling the government’s constitutional obligations.
“Your clients’ intended claim is wholly misconceived. The government has and continues to comply with its constitutional obligations. We are therefore instructed to indicate that the Prime Minister declines your request for an undertaking,” Courtenay Coye stated.
In the last general elections held on November 11, 2020, the then opposition PUP achieved its first national election victory since 2003, winning 26 seats, while the then incumbent United Democratic Party (UDP) suffered its worst result since 1998, winning the remaining five seats.
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