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Extension sought on Precinct 1 lottery TRO
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Posted on Sep 01 2005
The Commonwealth Election Commission and beleaguered candidate Rose Nelly T. Ada-Hocog jointly asked the court yesterday to extend the temporary restraining order preventing CEC from conducting a lottery of Precinct 1 candidates for the House of Representatives.
The commission and Ada-Hocog, through assistant attorney general Arin Greenwood and attorney Matthew T. Gregory respectively, sought a 10-day extension to the restraining order that expired Aug. 31, 2005.
As of 5pm yesterday, the law office of Gregory had not yet received the court’s approval of the stipulation.
If granted, the stipulation by both parties would extend the restraining order to be in effect until Sept. 15, 2005.
Greenwood and Gregory also asked the court for the hearing that was set for Aug. 31 to be taken off the calendar. They suggested a Sept. 9 hearing on the Ada-Hocog’s motion for preliminary injunction.
The two parties’ request came even as a bill was introduced in the Senate seeking to amend the election law to remove restrictions on House candidates that are not imposed on senatorial or mayoral candidates.
Authored by Senate majority leader Paul Manglona, S.B. 14-96 seeks to remove the provision of Public Law 12-18 requiring a candidate for a House seat to be “a registered voter and a resident of the election precinct where he or she is a candidate for at least two years immediately preceding the date of election.”
The bill also proposes to shorten the residency requirement for House candidates from five years to three years.
The election commission has refused to certify the nomination of Ada-Hocog on the ground that she did not meet the two-year voter registration requirement allegedly provided by election law.
Ada-Hocog then sued CEC to stop a lottery that would determine the position of Precinct 1 candidates on the Nov. 5, 2005 election ballot. She also asked the court to provide its interpretation of eligibility requirements for House candidates, particularly the provision concerning registration as a voter.
