Following Wednesday’s court ruling in which Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire ruled that the ongoing House-to-House Registration being undertaken by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is within the confines of the Constitution, and is therefore legal,the Opposition Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) says that it will not contest the decision of the court.

“In the circumstances, after a more mature consideration of the Chief Justice’s decision and after conferring with my client and other counsel involved, including Senior Counsel, it is our considered opinion not to appeal the decision of the learned Chief Justice. Needless to say, we may reconsider our position, should appeals be filed by the other parties in the proceedings,” the PPP said in its statement.

The party said that the legal proceedings filed by chartered accountant Christopher Ram, achieved its principal objective and it maintained that elections should be held on or before September 18, 2019.

The Acting Chief Justice delivered her judgment in a case challenging the constitutionality of House-to-House Registration brought before the High Court by Ram, in which, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, and the Attorney General Basil Williams were the named respondents.

Justice George-Wiltshire ruled that the Constitution and the Laws of Guyana provide for the conduct of House-to-House Registration as a form of verification – a position that was argued by the Attorney-General and the attorneys that represented the Chief Elections Officer – Senior Counsel Neil Boston and Roysdale Forde.

As such, she ruled that the June 11 Order published in the Official Gazette by the then Chairman of Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson was in compliance with established laws. The order paved the way for the House-to-House Registration exercise to be conducted from July 20, 2019 to October 20, 2019 – a period of three months.

The Chief Justice iterated that there was nothing stopping the Elections Commission from carrying out its functions, and more so, a decision it had taken before a No-Confidence Motion was put before the National Assembly, and before the CCJ delivered its judgment in the consolidated No-Confidence Motion cases and the GECOM Chair appointment matter.

“I do not see how a House-to-House Registration exercise violates Article 106 (6) and (7). The CEO and GECOM have no role in the implementation of Article 106 (6) and as regards of Article 106 (7) GECOM could conduct the House to House Registration or any other verification process, for that matter, in the context of the peculiar circumstances that are extant following the NCM,” the Chief Justice ruled.