Georgetown: The incumbent APNU+AFC has rejected calls from local and international observers to concede defeat at the March 2, 2020 elections as General Secretary of the party, Joseph Harmon on Sunday vowed that President David Granger would not concede especially since the Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield submitted figures that show the party won the elections.
These numbers will be deliberated and are likely to be rejected by the seven-member body.
The recount results show that the Opposition People’s Progressive Party has won the elections by 15,416 votes.
But Lowenfield’s latest report gives the APNU+AFC Coalition a victory with 171,825 votes.
In his first report, based on official figures from the recount, Lowenfield certified that there were 460, 352 valid votes but recently reduced that figure to 344, 508. That’s a difference of 115, 844.
Figures from the recount show APNU+AFC received 217, 920 votes, but in his report, Lowenfield gave them 171, 825, a reduction of 46, 095.
Figures from the recount show that the PPP won the elections with 233, 336 votes, but Lowenfield reduced their figure to 166, 343. That’s a difference of 66, 993.
But despite President Granger previously committing to accepting the recount results, he has refused to accept defeat and has since embarked on a campaign to claim electoral fraud without providing evidence.
Harmon on Sunday said that it is the “most ridiculous and nonsensical proposition” to concede defeat.
Ignoring the reality of the situation, Harmon fantasized and proposed that it was just a matter of time before Granger is sworn in for a second straight term because of Lowenfield’s report.
APNU+AFC and Lowenfield singing from the same hymn book had related without any evidence that the elections were tainted by voter impersonation of dead people and overseas-based Guyanese voting at the elections.
During his appearance on 104.3 Power FM, Harmon said “so there you have it – a report in the Elections Commission showing all the valid votes, and still people are calling on Granger to concede. Concede to what, concede to who? What is he to concede to?”
He continued: “It appears to me and I venture to say, any right-thinking person to be a most ridiculous and nonsensical proposition.”
The Kingdom of Norway, the United States Secretary of State, the Commonwealth, the Organisation of American States (OAS), CARICOM, the British and Canadian High Commissioners, the United States Ambassador, the European Union, the Elders Group, United States Senators and other international and local observers have urged President Granger to “do the right thing” and concede.
The 35 days recount exercise was supervised by a high-level three-member CARICOM team which has since determined that the recount results are “completely acceptable” and that the winner should be declared.
President Granger had described the CARICOM scrutineers as the “most legitimate interlocutor” in the Guyana elections but since the CARICOM report was released, he has not addressed the media or the nation.
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judges last week, at their case management conference, declined to order the Chief Elections Officer to withdraw his report but said the time would come for lawyers to address the legality of doing so.
Public hearings are scheduled for all day Wednesday on an appeal by the PPP’s Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali against the Guyana Court of Appeal ruling that the constitutional reference of “more votes” in Article 177 actually means “more valid votes cast” and must be considered with the national vote recount order that required reconciliation of votes with voters’ lists, counterfoils, stubs and other material to deliver a credible result.
The Trinidad-headquartered court last week Tuesday issued an order blocking GECOM from taking any action, including declaring results, until the hearing and determination of the case.
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