PRESIDENTIAL candidate for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Brigadier David Granger, raised doubts, when asked yesterday, about GECOM’s ability to pronounce on the results last evening. “The returning officer have to make regional declarations before a national declaration is made and I would be very surprised if all 10 declarations are made by this evening (yesterday evening),” Granger said in an invited comment after GECOM’s final press briefing yesterday.
According to him, APNU met with GECOM earlier yesterday and his impression after that meeting was that all 10 declarations could be made.
He said, “I did not get the impression that the Elections Commission was in a position to satisfy the legal requirements for the declaration (last evening)…my understanding is that the declaration is made based on the declaration of the returning officer.”

LEGALITY A MUST
He stressed that the legal requirements must be met and the declarations made on the sole legal basis, the Statement of Polls (SOPs).
“Any other declaration cannot be accepted,” Granger stressed.
He maintained that all APNU’s calculations have been based on the SOPs, which have been signed by the party’s agents.
All the major political parties have been calling on GECOM to disclose a winner on a preliminary basis, with the understanding that, as the SOPs are processed, the official results would be relayed.
GECOM has opted to relay results as the SOPs are being processed, with updates to the numbers at regular intervals.