Guyana under pressure to release election results

Guyana is coming under increased pressure to release results of the disputed March 2 regional and general elections, based on the results of the national recount.

Commonwealth Secretary General, Patricia Scotland, said the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) should follow the directions given by the Trinidad & Tobago-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and decisively conclude the disputed election.

The Organization of American States (OAS), which had sent an observer team to monitor the elections and the recount, said that respect for the results of the national recount is Guyana’s “only democratic solution”.

The regional body noted that “the chief elections officer of Guyana, in direct opposition to the instructions of the chair of the Guyana Elections Commission, has submitted a final report which includes data compiled prior to the national recount; data which had already been deemed to be questionable.

“There can be no justification for this action. As intimated in our statement of July 10, this confirms that the chief elections officer is acting in bad faith and contrary to the interest of democracy in Guyana,” it added.

GECOM was due to meet to discuss a report submitted by chief elections offcer Keith Lowenfield that gave the ruling coalition, A partnership for National Unity (APNU) victory in the elections.

Lowenfield, who had earlier missed the deadline for submitting the report given to him by GECOM chairman, retired Justice Claudette Singh, in his new report, put the valid votes as 475,118, giving the coalition 236,777 and the main opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) 229,330.

As a result, he has assigned the coalition 32 seats in the 65-seat Parliament, 31 to the PPP/C and one seat to three of the smaller Opposition parties.

One of the 3 opposition nominated members on the seven-member GECOM, Sase Gunraj, told reporters that the report did not reflect the results of the national recount that ended on June 9 with the PPP/C claiming that it had won the polls by more than 15,000 votes.

In her statement, Scotland said that she had taken note and welcomed the statement from the chairman of the Caribbean Community, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves, which called on all stakeholders to respect the ruling of the CCJ, Guyana’s highest court.

“In accordance with the applicable laws and the constitution of Guyana, the CCJ exercised its final appellate jurisdiction, and, on July 8, 2020 handed down a clear and unambiguous ruling. The CCJ stated, “It is for GECOM to ensure that the election results are swiftly declared in accordance with the laws of Guyana.”

Scotland said that Guyana is a much-loved and valued member of the Commonwealth and “on behalf of the entire Commonwealth family, I strongly encourage the Guyana Elections Commission to follow the directions given by the CCJ”.

“Guyana’s destiny as a great nation rests on the shoulders of those men and women who are duty-bound to make the right decision, respecting the will of the people and the rule of law, and ready to place their country before their personal ambitions. The Commonwealth calls all leaders to be faithful to the common good so that Guyana’s future may truly be forged today,” Scotland added. -(CMC)