Updated - Court rejects new Pl request (See bottom) - The PN’s court case to be awarded extra parliamentary seats following a vote-counting mistake in the last general election will forge ahead, after a judge this morning turned down Labour’s request to suspend proceedings.

Last Friday, PL lawyer and deputy leader Toni Abela had asked the Constitutional Court to halt proceedings pending the outcome of another Constitutional case, this time on which court should have the jurisdiction to look into the PN’s request. The latter case had been instituted by the PL.

In its decree the First Hall of the Civil Court (Constitutional Jurisdiction) presided by Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orlando today ruled that by seeking the suspension of proceedings pending the other constitutional case the PL had placed “the cart before the horse”. It noted how such request were only upheld in exceptional cases.

Meanwhile Dr Abela, today filed an application challenging a decree issued last Friday whereby the court had rejected Labour’s request to be given more time to summon one more witness – Anthony Gellel a part-time employee of the Electoral Commission. The witness had not been found at home when the summons was delivered and was in Gozo during Friday’s sitting.

In its decree Madam Justice Schembri Orland had noted that the court had already dedicated four sittings for the purpose, but on several occasions, the PL had failed to summon any witnesses.

In his application, Dr Abela this morning requested a ruling whether he could take his complaint to the Appeals Court.

When proceedings resumed in the afternoon the court rejected the PL’s request noting that Dr Abela had not done his utmost to summon all of his witnesses in the four sittings allocated to him. So his application was not justified, the judge ruled.

The case will continue in April, when both sides will make their final submissions.