…restates respect for constitution, GECOM’s independence

PRESIDENT David Granger, in iterating a long held position, said his government will accept the result of the General and Regional Elections when it is declared by the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh.

“As President of Guyana and Leader of the Government, it is my policy that any declaration coming from the Chairman of GECOM will be accepted by the Government of Guyana. I speak for the Government of Guyana,” the Head of State said.

At the time, he was responding to a series of questions posed by journalists during an interview at the National Aquatic Centre on Sunday, following his visit to the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), where the national recount of the votes cast at the March 2020 General and Regional Elections is being conducted.

In putting to rest contentions by the opposition, President Granger, who took office in May 2015 when the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) brought an end to the People’s Progressive Party Civic’s (PPP/C) 23-years reign in office, said the declaration of the result by the Chairman of GECOM will be regarded as legitimate and in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana.

As the national recount enters its 13th day, President Granger, while acknowledging the independence of the Elections Commission as a constitutional authority, said it is not for him to pre-empt the decision of GECOM ahead of the completion of the recount.

“I cannot speculate about an outcome, [for] which I am not aware,” the Head of State told journalists, while adding, “I cannot envisage a situation, in which I would counter or ignore the rulings of GECOM.”

President Granger iterated that, he like the rest of Guyana, has little choice but to await a formal declaration of the results by the Chair of the Elections Commission. It has been more than two months since more than 500,000 Guyanese went to the polls – and the result is pending.

“I have always said I will await the declaration of the Chairman of GECOM… I will await the declaration of the Chairman of GECOM. I cannot say what GECOM will determine, that’s why we’re are here at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, and the Aquatic Centre, to await the completion of a process committed to the recount of the ballots that were cast on March 2,” the Head of State said, while emphasising that he cannot and will not speculate about the outcome of the recount.

It was President Granger, who despite leading the electoral race by more than 7,000 votes, agreed to a national recount after the electoral process was bogged down with a series of legal actions filed by the PPP/C, through a private citizen, Reeaz Holladar, over allegations that the Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, had not complied with the Representation of the People Act in tabulating the statements of poll for his electoral district.

On March 14, one day after Mingo had declared the results for Region Four for a second time, President Granger agreed to a national recount based on an intervention by the Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley. The President and the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, subsequently signed an Aide Memoire agreeing to the national recount under the supervision of CARICOM.

The word “supervised” had posed a number of other legal challenges, which landed the electoral process in the court for a third time and resulted in a group of CARICOM high-level officials withdrawing from the process the same day the recount was slated to start (March 17).

However, the courts ruled that the Elections Commission, under Article 162 of the Constitution and Section 22 of the Elections Law (Amendment) Act of 2000, had the authority to facilitate the national recount. The Court of Appeal, however, in establishing the independence of GECOM, was keen on noting the Elections Commission is the sole authority responsible for the supervision of elections in Guyana.

GECOM, on April 3, in agreeing to proceed with the national recount, made it clear that while it will supervise the recount, CARICOM will scrutinise the process. The CARICOM high-level delegation, which includes Senior Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Cynthia Barrow-Giles; Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, John Jarvis; and Supervisor of St Vincent Electoral Commission; Sylvester King, arrived on May 1, and five days after (May 6), the recount of the votes cast at the General and Regional Elections Commission commenced at the conference centre.
The roles of GECOM and CARICOM were embedded in the gazette order, which brought into legal effect, the recount.

In the eight whereas clauses detailed in the order, the Elections Commission justified its decision to facilitate the national recount, explaining that while General and Regional Elections were held in Guyana on March 2, 2020, the electoral process encountered a number of stumbling blocks, and in some instances, parts of the process were legally challenged in the courts.

It explained that though the declarations of the results were made in accordance with Section 84 (1) of the Representation of the People Act, requests for recounts in a number of electoral districts were rejected, aborted, or held in abeyance. Further to that, a report detailing the results of the elections was submitted to the Chairman of the Elections Commission but that too was held in abeyance, and aspects of the election process challenged in the court.

Given the challenges that arose, GECOM took note of the fact that President Granger and the Opposition Leader agreed to a CARICOM proposal for a total recount of all electoral districts as “a means of assuaging the contesting parties and determining a final credible count.” In keeping with the general consensus among the political parties, the Elections Commission initiated the national recount.

President Granger, from the onset, made his position known that he will accept the results of the elections as declared by the Chair of GECOM. “I have said, repeatedly, that I shall accept the declaration of the results by the Elections Commission, which will allow for a democratically-elected government to be sworn in to office,” the Head of State said hours after the Elections Commission had gazette the order.