A notice of appeal has been filed with the Guyana Court of Appeal challenging Tuesday’s decision of the Full Court in the case taken to the courts by Ulita Moore.

On Tuesday, the Full Court, comprising Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire and Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, overruled a decision by High Court Judge Franklin Holder who ruled on March 27, 2020 that the court had jurisdiction to hear the matter in which Moore challenged the decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to facilitate a National Recount of all the votes cast at the March 2 Elections on the grounds that the issues raised could only be dealt with by way of an Elections Petition.

On Tuesday the Full Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the Court has no jurisdiction to hear the case brought by Moore.

Justice Holder had ruled that the High Court had jurisdiction to review the actions of GECOM in light of allegations that it may have acted outside of its constitutional powers when it opted to facilitate a national recount under the supervision of a high-level team from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) based on an agreement brokered by President David Granger and Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo. Justice Holder’s decision was challenged by Jagdeo, and an appeal was made to the Full Court.

When the Full Court, which comprised of Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire and Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, handed down its decision on Tuesday (March 31), it ruled that any challenge to decisions made by the Elections Commission could only be done by way of an Elections Petition, and not Judicial Review, as provided for in the Constitution and Electoral Laws.

As such, the order issued by Justice Holder establishing jurisdiction to hear the case of Ulita Moore v The Guyana Elections Commission, the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission and the Chief Elections Officer and others was vacated.

Following the ruling on Tuesday, GECOM officials were studying the decision of the court.The commission is set to meet on Thursday.