Georgetown: In the aftermath of the dismissal of the APNU/AFC agent Misenga Jones appeal, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will be meeting on Sunday at 10 am to discuss the way forward.
In a unanimous ruling Thursday Justices Dawn Gregory, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and Rishi Persaud threw out the APNU/AFC appeal against the decision of Chief Justice Roxane George that the recount votes be used for the declaration of the result of the March 2nd general elections.
The judges also ruled that the Chief Election Officer (CEO) is a functionary of the Commission and must submit his Section 96 report based on the direction of that body which is using the recount results.
Meanwhile, leader of the People’s Progressive Party Bharrat Jagdeo welcomed Thursday’s ruling noting it was frivolous and vexatious.
“We are pleased that the decision was unanimous in this regard,” Jagdeo said during a virtual briefing moments after the judgment was handed down.
He believes that even in the face of a 24-hour stay granted by the Court of Appeal, that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) must now move ahead with declaring the winner of the elections in keeping with the recount figures.
The recount shows the PPP winning the elections by over 15,000 votes while the APNU/AFC coalition lost the elections by over 24, 000 votes.
According to the Constitution, Justice Singh makes a declaration of the results of the elections after the Chief Elections Officer presents his advice.
But the CEO Keith Lowenfield has repeatedly refused to produce his report using the recount figures and instead invalidated hundreds of thousands of votes to hand the APNU+AFC coalition a victory.
Jagdeo was keen to point out that the Court of Appeal made it clear that Lowenfield must follow the direction of the Commission in preparing his report which cannot be done using declarations made before the recount.
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