AS expected, the morning after the landmark ruling by the Guyana Court of Appeal, the PPP has moved to the CCJ to challenge that ruling. The opposition party is challenging the ruling that it had jurisdiction to hear the case brought by Eslyn David, and by extension that the votes to determine the election of the president must be “valid votes”. There is legal view that the CCJ does not have jurisdiction to hear such an appeal, as the Guyana Constitution is clear that the ruling by the Court of Appeal is final. Attorney- General Basil Williams shares this view.

According to him, “The election of the President, which is reflected in an instrument under the hand of the Chairman of the Elections Commission, is final and conclusive, and cannot be inquired into in another Court…I don’t know why they asked for a stay, because Article 177 (4) says quite clearly that any decision made thereunder was final, so that they can’t appeal it, and, equally, under our Caribbean Court of Justice Act, Chapter 3:07, there’s a provision also which states that the Caribbean Court would not exercise jurisdiction, or hear any matter coming from our Court of Appeal which is stated to be final.”

This publication leans in that direction. It seems to us that the Constitution is unambiguous as it relates to this matter. Article 177 (4) states: “The Court of Appeal shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any question as to the validity of an election of a President in so far as the question depends upon the qualification of any person for election, or the interpretation of this Constitution; and any decision of that Court under this paragraph shall be final.”

One must ask the obvious question: Why is the PPP moving to the CCJ, in the face of what is an explicit statement in the Constitution? It must also be noted that that party has bypassed the customary stage of seeking leave from the Court of Appeal. The only explanation can be that the PPP is seeking to deliberately slow down the process of concluding the election. The CCJ would have to first rule on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case, and then deal with the substantive matter before it. This can take as long as three to four weeks.

Of course, the PPP’s move to the CCJ does not prevent GECOM from pressing ahead with its work. Even the PPP has admitted that GECOM could press forward in making a declaration. But the agency has shown a reluctance to adapt such a course of action in the past. That means that Guyanese must wait much longer for the resolution of the election.

As was expected, the PPP and its allies are contending that the ruling by the Court of Appeal changes nothing. This is a bizarre conclusion, given the fact that that party spent a lot of resources challenging the application by Ms. David. Further, it is now moving to the CCJ to seek to strike down the ruling. Clearly, the PPP is playing politics.

In the final analysis, we feel the CCJ would correctly interpret the letter and spirt of the Constitution for what they are. No amount of denial by the PPP can dilute or erase the fact that the ruling by the court has brought us closer to resolution, and that it is grounded in sound reading of the Constitution. What has changed is that the ruling has clarified for GECOM what a valid vote, in these circumstances, is. Whereas the PPP had contended that a valid vote should not be determined by the credibility of the process, the court has ruled that validity must arise from both the quantitative and qualitative assessment of the process. That much is clear from the court’s ruling.