Georgetown: In the aftermath of the Court of Appeals ruling, General Secretary of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party Bharrat Jagdeo said the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is free to proceed with the declaration of a winner of the March 02, 2020 elections.
Jagdeo called on the Coalition to stop engaging in tactics would that further delay the declaration of results and the PPP’s ascension to office with Irfaan Ali as President.
“We believe that declaration should be made now on the basis that there is nothing that prevents the Commission from moving forward, they have already decided what credible votes are,” Jagdeo said. “When the Court of Appeal said today that more votes mean more valid votes, we agree with that.”
Underscoring that the PPP secured more valid votes according to certified figures from the national recount, he said “there is nothing that they said today that can prevent the declaration from being made.”
Adding that the declaration will see the PPP/C emerging victorious according to the official certified figures from the national recount exercise, Jagdeo said the PPP has no issue with the ruling, only that he interprets valid votes to be the official figures from the recount and not alternate figures being put forward by the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield.
“It [Court of Appeal] didn’t annul the election, it places this back in the Commission… and the Commission already decided when they directed Lowenfield to prepare the report,” he added.
GECOM’s Chairman Justice (retired) Claudette Singh last week instructed Lowenfield to compile his final report using the figures from the recount to declare the winner of the elections.
Jagdeo said the incumbent APNU+AFC seems now hopeful to use this ruling and invalidate voters on the basis of unproven allegations.
“It would be patently wrong, almost outrageous that they can validate what Lowenfiedl says using this ruling … because if it means that then we have a bigger problem than the one we have now,” Jagdeo said.
Jagdeo said Lowenfield cannot, on his own, determine the credibility of the elections and insisted that must be a role for all stakeholders.
The Court of Appeal Monday agreed by majority decision to issue an order that there be an interpretation of the words “more votes are cast” in Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution of Guyana.
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