The Supreme Court has dismissed in its entirety the election petition challenging the 2022 election victory of Nipa-Kutubu MP Hon. Dr Billy Joseph.
A five-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika and Justices Mogish, Manuhu, David and Murray today upheld separate review applications filed by Dr Joseph and the Electoral Commission.
The case arose from an election petition filed by Fiebik Simon Kilip following the 2022 National General Election. Dr Joseph was declared the winner of the Nipa Kutubu Open seat on 8 August 2022.
The Supreme Court found that while the petition itself was electronically filed within the required 40 day period, receipts for the K5,000 security deposit and filing fee were uploaded onto the Integrated Electronic Case Management System four days after the deadline.
The Court ruled that electronic filing was the proper mode of filing and that the requirements were mandatory.
The Court found that the trial judge had erred in refusing to uphold the objection to the competency of the petition.
The Supreme Court consequently upheld the review applications and dismissed the election petition in its entirety as incompetent, with costs to be borne by the respondent, Fiebik Simon Kilip.