-Prime Minister Rowley urges speedy resolution to elections impasse

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley ,one several CARICOM leaders who have been engaging officials here on conclusion of the electoral process , has expressed hope that the situation will come to a finality soon, noting that there is too much at stake for the country.

Rowley along with chair of CARICOM, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves , Prime Ministers Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica, and the Grenadines and Keith Mitchell of Grenada visited Guyana several days after the March 2, 2020 elections with the aim of assisting at the arrival at a resolution to the impasse that resulted from the polls.

The results of the elections have been hooked-up in the courts with a ruling by the Court of Appeal set for today being the latest decision deriving in the month-long post-election wait.
In an interview with the CCN6 of T&T recently, Rowley that while he has an “unsettling feeling” about the ongoing process, he is hopeful that “something will happen” which will put an end to the process.

He said that he is worried that an election which occurred a month ago, is still “still a courthouse matter”, noting that the ending of an elections is usually at the counting of the ballots.

Rowley noted that the high-level team of regional leaders met with the 11 political parties which contested the elections, including the major parties, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) and the Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

After the visit, CARICOM through Prime Minister Mottley, made a commitment to send a team of electoral officials to assist with overseeing the recounting of ballots but Rowley noted that the matter was once again taken to the courts while other legal opinions stalled the process once more. He said he is unsure where the ongoing situation leaves CARICOM, however he expressed hope that the process will soon come to a conclusion.
He said that Trinidad and Tobago is “deeply involved “in the engagement with CARICOM on the electoral issue here , adding that Guyana plays an integral role in the regional body as its headquarters are in Georgetown.

On Friday, GECOM made a decision to proceed with a recount of all the ballots cast at the March 2 General and Regional Elections, but the commission was still working out modalities as to how this would be done.

The decision comes on the heels of a ruling by the Full Court to discharge the injunctions and dismiss the Fixed Date Application for Judicial Review filed by Ulita Moore, a private citizen, on the basis that the challenge ought to have come by way of an Elections Petition within 28 days of the declaration of the results by the Elections Commission.

The matter was subsequently taken to the Court of Appeal by the applicant and Justice Dawn Gregory is expected to make a ruling on the matter today at 11:00hrs.

On Friday GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, decided that a recount of the votes cast at the March,2, 2020 polls would be conducted in chronological order, that is, from Region One to Region 10. That decision was taken against the backdrop of Article 162 (1) (b) of the Constitution of Guyana, which mandates the Commission to “take such action as appear to it necessary or expedient to ensure impartiality, fairness and compliance with the provisions of the Constitution.”

Ahead of her decision, Justice Singh told the Commissioners that she was in no position to backpedal on her commitment to the High Court during an earlier hearing to facilitate the national recount. The commission also awaits the outcome of the ruling today, before proceeding on its mandate.

Days after a CARICOM High-Level Team travelled to Guyana to supervise the re-counting of ballots from the country’s elections, the team pulled-out of the country after several legal issues stalled its mandate.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley had announced that President David Granger had made a request for CARICOM to field an independent high-level team to supervise a planned national recounting of the ballots cast in the elections.

This was agreed to by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, and the two local leaders signed an Aide Memoire for the agreed recount. However, CARICOM requested that this agreement be followed up with an Order and the same gazette, but this was advised against by Guyana’s Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Charles Fung-a-Fat as doing so would supersede electoral laws and infringe on the rights of electors.

This was coupled with an interim injunction and Order granted by the High Court to halt the recount, on the basis that the declarations that have already been made were final, and that GECOM is the only agency authorised to conduct elections. This being the case, the high-level team withdrew themselves from the process.

President Granger subsequently expressed disappointment at the developments even as he appealed for patience by the populace on the outcome of the matter.” I have said repeatedly throughout the electoral process that I will abide by the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the decisions of the Elections Commission and the ruling of the Supreme Court. I maintain this position. I iterate my commitment to the due completion of all electoral requirements and the conclusion of the process under the auspices of the Commission and in the interest of all Guyanese.

I assure the nation that I remain committed to the electoral process and to the declaration of results by the Elections Commission in accordance with the law,”the President said.
Prior to the withdrawal of the CARICOM team GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander told reporters that: “They have not given up on us; they have withdrawn at this point in time; they have indicated that they are still available if the need arises for an intervention to do so.”