CARICOM observation team
GEORGETOWN, Guyana--Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon said if the High Court throws out orders for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to verify election results for Region Four before they are declared, David Granger will be sworn in as President for a second straight term.
He said GECOM could not have met to consider certified results by the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield because of the orders secured by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). “Once that is done it will clear the way for the commission to meet and for them to issue that statement which will clear the way for the president to be sworn in,” Harmon said in video recorded remarks.
With PPP-nominated GECOM Commissioners not expected to attend any meeting of the seven-member body, it is unclear how the results will be ratified because the meeting will not have a quorum. The quorum consists of at least two commissioners from each side and the Commission Chairman Claudette Singh.
Harmon says the orders that were granted have “several defects” and he expects they will be discharged. The High Court is scheduled to sit on Saturday at 10am.
Harmon, who is also General Secretary of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), hopes Granger can be sworn in swiftly especially due to the political unrest in several People’s Progressive Party (PPP) strongholds. “It is our expectation that this matter be treated with some amount of speed because the security situation in the country, which seems to be promoted and I would say the intellectual authors of this situation are the PPP, and they call for the supporters to get engaged in the sort of lawlessness seen today.
“This is not a good situation and we would like to have this matter dealt with quickly. In order for there to be calm, stability and restraint we have to have the president sworn in quickly and that his government be able to take the necessary steps to guarantee the peace, stability and security of this country,” he said.
Harmon called on the PPP leadership to appeal to their supporters “to refrain from the type of physical damage which I saw today occurring.”
Senior PPP leaders Anil Nandlall, Frank Anthony and Ganga Persaud journeyed to Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, to appeal to supporters to disperse but they refused to do so. Eventually, police fired teargas and pellets in order to clear that major east-west corridor.
Harmon also called on the PPP not to allow the country to degenerate into strife.
The international community of the United Nations, United Stated, Canada, Britain and the European Union, as well election observers from the Carter Center, Commonwealth, Organisation of American States and the European Union, have sharply criticized authorities for not complying with the law to deliver transparent and credible election results.
The western nations have cautioned Granger against being sworn in before the results are verified or risk his government being deemed unconstitutional.
The CARICOM Election Observation Mission accepts that the tabulation process, which commenced on Wednesday, March 4, using the Statements of Poll and which was in accord with the legislative provisions of Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act Cap 1.03 Revised Edition of the Laws of Guyana, was interrupted and remains incomplete.
Furthermore, it is evident that the transparent tabulation of results for Region 4 must be resumed under the independent control of the Returning Officer, as these scores are necessary and critical in order to determine the outcome of the National Poll.
Like in other regions in Guyana, it is imperative that the Returning Officer be allowed to carry out his functions independent of any influence or directive from the GECOM Secretariat.
Until this occurs, the outcome of the elections of March 2 cannot be reliably proclaimed.
In this regard, the Mission supports the Joint Statement, issued on March 6 by International Observer Missions from the Commonwealth, the Organization of American States, the European Union and The Carter Center and urges GECOM to proceed with the establishment of the results for Region 4, in accordance with the law.
The Mission appeals to the political parties and the people of the cooperative Republic of Guyana to co-operate with the process by honouring the subscribed codes of conduct.
The United Nations (UN) on Friday called on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to verify the Region Four results of Monday’s general and regional elections in keeping with the law.
“We encourage the relevant Guyanese authorities to finalize the process in a manner which leaves no doubts as to the credibility of the results that reflect the will of the Guyanese people,” the UN said through its office in Guyana.
The United Nations says it is calling on all sides to act with calm, patience and in full respect of human rights, the rule of law and Guyana’s constitutional order.
Expressing concern about the situation in Guyana, the UN says it notes the statements issued by international observers and Ambassadors accredited in Georgetown, the capital.
Those statements raise concerns regarding lack of compliance with national legal procedures and the need to resume the tabulation of results for Region Four.
Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU) “urges all Guyanese to respect the will of the people as exercised in the General and Regional Elections of Monday March 2, 2020.”
Further, the coalition said it “commends the hundreds of thousands of Guyanese who exercised their right to vote on Monday and who have remained calm and peaceful as we all await the final declaration of results by the Guyana Elections Commission.”
The GECOM declared results, under legal contention, show that of the 215,854 valid votes cast in Region Four, David Granger’s A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) won 136,335 votes and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) won 77,258 votes. But the PPP says its Statements of Poll show that APNU won 114,345 votes and the PPP, 80,344 votes.
