…shows coalition gaining highest number of valid votes
…APNU+AFC gets 33 seats, PPP/C 31, joinder party 1

UTILISING valid votes, as ordered by the Court of Appeal, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, on Tuesday, submitted his Election Report, which shows that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) won the 2020 General and Regional Elections by more than 5,000 votes.

“I have taken note of the guidance of the Court of Appeal in Eslyn David v Chief Elections Officer et al in the preparation of my Report under Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act and providing advice as required by Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,” Lowenfield said in his Report to the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh.

According to the CEO’s Report, the APNU+AFC secured 171,825 valid votes while the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) raked in 166, 343 valid votes, followed by A New and United Guyana (ANUG) with 1,776 votes, Change Guyana with 1,517 votes, and Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) with 1,517 votes. The People’s Republican Party (PRP), The Citizenship Initiative (TCI), The New Movement (TNM) and the United Republic Party (UPR) got less than 700 votes each. Together, the Joined Lists comprising ANUG, LJP and TNM, secured a total of 3,348 votes.

The Chief Elections Officer, in his Report, noted that there were only 344,508 valid votes cast at the March 2 General and Regional Elections. Some 3,001 votes were rejected, and when taken together with the valid votes cast, Lowenfield records show a total of 347,509 votes.

In his tabulation, the Chief Elections Officer allocated 33 seats in the National Assembly to APNU+AFC, 31 to the PPP/C and one seat to the Joinder Lists comprising A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM).

According to the CEO’s Report, when the votes were divided the APNU secured 32 seats, PPP/C 31– a total of 63 seats. However, when the largest remainders were taken into consideration, the Joined Lists – ANUG, LJP and TNM – secured one seat with its 3,348 votes and the APNU+AFC an extra seat for the 2,221 votes it had remaining. PPP/C had 2,039 votes remaining but not enough to secure another seat. Lowenfield’s elections report is in stark contrast with the National Recount Report he had submitted to the Elections Commission on June 13, 2020. In that report, the CEO had informed the Elections Commission that based on the Statements of Recount (SORs), which were generated and tabulated at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), PPP/C secured 233,336 votes, while APNU+AFC raked in 217,920 votes. But while the recount showed that the PPP/C was in the lead by 15,416 votes, the CEO was keen on pointing out to the Elections Commission that thousands of votes were compromised as a result of widespread irregularities, and alleged cases of electoral fraud.

Though GECOM, under Order No. 60 and its addendum, is legally bound to determine “a final credible count,” the Elections Commission, on June 16, 2020, said it had no jurisdiction to determine the credibility and validity of the votes and as such, instructed to the CEO to compile and submit an Elections Report by June 18, so as to pave way for the declaration of the Elections Result and ultimately the swearing in of the President. However, moments before the CEO handed in his report, a North Sophia voter, Eslyn David, challenged GECOM’s decision in the Court of Appeal. Among the orders sought was an interpretation of the words “more votes are cast” in Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution.
The Court of Appeal, in establishing jurisdiction to adjudicate solely on the interpretation of the Constitution, ordered that the words “more votes are cast” be interpreted to mean “more valid votes are cast” in relation to the General and Regional Elections. The court had taken into consideration Order No. 60, which was used by GECOM to facilitate a national recount in its quest to determine “a final credible count.”

It was on that basis that Lowenfield submitted his elections report to the Elections Commission using only valid votes cast. Elections Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said that Lowenfield had no other choice but to adhere to the ruling of the Court in submitting his report under Article 177 (2) (b) and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act.