Georgetown: On Sunday, Chief Justice Roxane George is expected to rule on if her court can entertain the case before her to stop the declaration of the votes from Elections Day polls until the Returning Officer of Region Four complies with the legal provisions for the verification of Statements of Polls (SOP).
Scores of countries worldwide have issued statements noting that if the verification of the Region Four SOP’s are not completed, the elections results would not be credible and the government would be unconstitutional and illegal.
Reeaz Hollander, was granted an injunction by the High Court to block the declaration of the overall results of the elections until the court makes a determination.
In nine of ten electoral districts, Returning Officers have verified their Statements of Poll in the presence of party agents and local and international observers.
The only district that did not follow this procedure to the end was District Four. This process was only followed in verifying a fraction of Statements of Poll and then the process was abandoned.
However, if the Chief Justice rejects the injunction, it would pave the way for the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield to certify the votes cast in every region and pass it to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), which would then meet and agree with the results before the Chairperson declares a winner.
The Chairperson will ultimately have the final say since she has the casting vote to approve the election results. But this can only happen if there is a quorum of GECOM Commissioners.
Meanwhile, if the case if to be heard, the Chief Justice will continue the case this Tuesday, and she will then make a ruling on the legitimate steps and procedures of the verification of Statements of Poll for region four.
Senior Counsel Neil Boston is the attorney for Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, the Chief Elections Officer and the Guyana Elections Commission.
Trinidadian Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, representing Hollander.
The injunction against the declaration of the elections results was sought after Returning Officer Mingo last Thursday moved to declare the votes recorded for the parties in his region without it being verified by party agents and local and international observers.
The law states that the Returning Officer shall, “in the presence of such of the persons entitled” to be there ascertain the total votes cast in favour of the parties.
Section 86 (1) lists the persons who shall be present at the counting of the votes.
These persons include:
(A) The Returning Officer, and such other Elections Officer appointed by him
(B) The Elections Commission
(C) Duly appointed Candidates
(D) Counting Agents
(E) Such other persons, as in the opinion of the Returning Officer, have good reason to be present.
Returning Officers for nine of the ten electoral districts followed what the law states and had party agents and local and foreign observers present.
This was not done by Mingo. Neither candidates of the Opposition PPP not observers were present when the votes for District Four were declared.
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