This article was first published on the 22nd of June, 2020.
Last updated: June 25, 2020 at 9:41 am
Georgetown, Guyana, South America.
The GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh, has since last Thursday, 18th of June, 2020, made the decision to declare a winner of the March 2, 2020 elections based on the recently concluded recount results. This was also the recommendation of the CARICOM Scrutineer Team, the OAS, the Commonwealth and all small parties which had contested the March, 2, 2020 elections in Guyana, South America.
However, the GECOM chair met strong opposition from government appointed commissioners and the Chief Elections Officer who sided with the APNU/AFC government that the electoral process was flawed and could not be used to declare a winner.
Despite no substantial evidence to prove the alleged fraud, and no law within Guyana’s constitution to prevent a declaration based on claims of alleged and unproven fraud, a private citizen supportive of the APNU/AFC filed an injunction last Thursday, 18th of June, to block the declaration of a winner based on the recount results. The case was first heard on Friday, 19th of June, 2020 and it was announced that a ruling would be made today, Monday, 22nd of June, 2020.
Today, at around 3: PM, a mostly tired, worn out and impatient Guyana waited eagerly for a pronouncement of the hearing which took place at the Court of Appeals in Georgetown, Guyana, South America. PPP/C supporters and many others were hoping that the case would be thrown out. However, APNU/AFC supporters were hoping that the court would rule that it does have jurisdiction to hear the matter. GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh, also recommended that the court throws out the case.
The lawyer for the PPP/C, Mr. Mendes, argued that there is no basis in Guyana’s constitution which allows the Court of Appeal to hear the matter of the private citizen seeking to block a recount declaration.
Today, Monday, 22nd of June, two of the three judges presiding over the matter ruled that the Appeals Court does have jurisdiction while one ruled that it doesn’t. Justice Rishi Persaud ruled that the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case while Justices Brassington Renolds and Dawn Gregory ruled that it does.
That means the matter is likely to continue for another protracted period of time while Guyanese continue to suffer without an official president and with a stagnated economy. The Muslim Youth Organization had last week called on Mr. David Granger to respect Guyana’s democracy and stop holding the country at ransom. It described the injunction as a “feeble attempt” to delay the inevitable declaration of the PPP/C as the winner of the March 2, 2020 elections.
About two months ago, a private citizen aligned with the APNU/AFC had filed an injunction to block the scheduled recount which a CARICOM Team was scheduled to oversee. However, the injunction was thrown out and the recount finally proceeded.
