National Assembly-PDM names David Pierre as its proportionally elected member |15 December 2011

The PDM won its appeal for the allocation of a proportionally elected seat in the National Assembly in a ruling by the Court of Appeal last week.

As a result of the ruling, the Parti Lepep was also entitled to two additional proportional seats. However, that party has declined to nominate the two additional members, according to the Electoral Commission.

It is to be recalled that in the case of  PDM v/s  Electoral Commission, the Constitutional Court awarded its judgment in favour of the Electoral Commission in that the calculation for proportionally elected seats was to be based on the total number of votes cast in accordance with Schedule 4 of  the Constitution.

However, in its ruling of December 9, 2011, the Court of Appeal directed the Electoral Commission to compute the proportionally elected seats based on the total number of valid votes.

In its communiqué, the Electoral Commission said it is “disappointed at the decision of the Court of Appeal but shall abide by its ruling”.

“Evidently there is a difference in the interpretation of Schedule 4 of the Constitution among the courts; hence it is imperative that the matter be addressed in the Electoral Reform to ensure clarity to all stakeholders,” added the Electoral Commission in the communique.

Meanwhile, Mr Pierre will be sworn in during the National Assembly’s sitting today.