THE attempt by former President David Granger to distance himself from the APNU+AFC’s electoral misconduct is not being ignored, as People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has flayed him for dodging accountability.
During a press conference on Friday at Freedom House, Jagdeo highlighted the inaccuracies in a recent letter written by Granger, where he claims that he never declared victory in the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Despite Granger trying to make the point that he did not declare victory, the report from the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) revealed that former Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield, his deputy Roxanne Myers and the District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo were involved in efforts to derail and corrupt the elections.
On this note, Jagdeo said, “So, when President Granger says, ‘I never declared victory,’ that has to be taken in context of what happened on that day of the fifth (March 2023)…So earlier that day, you had Mingo, who went to, stood up in GECOM and actually declared the falsified results that showed that APNU+AFC had won Region Four.

“So, then Granger went in that evening to the venue where they were celebrating. The people there were gathered to celebrate victory, he went to that venue with the knowledge that Mingo had already suggested in a falsified declaration that they [had] won Region Four.”
As such, Jagdeo said that Granger was correct when he said that he did not declare victory, because constitutionally, he cannot.
Only the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) can do such. However, the words that the former President used suggested that the APNU+AFC will return to office.

“…He [Granger] could not have declared because only GECOM can declare. But he said ‘in the next five years’. Now, for a right-thinking person, ‘in the next five years, I promise to make your lives better.’ What does that mean? That you believe you have won the elections. You are there. You’re just waiting on the formal process for the declaration.”
Using the Presidential (CoI into the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections to further expose the blatant actions of the coalition, Jagdeo pointed to two findings.

“…Senior GECOM officials abandoned all need for neutrality and impartiality and demonstrated a bias for a competing political party and in the course of events, these showed an open connection with that party and by their efforts sought a desired result for that party. So that is clear. That’s the finding of the CoI.

“And then another clause says from the totality of the evidence, surrounding the ROs declaration, there appears to be such collusion and collaboration between senior GECOM officials as the likely amount of conspiracy to make what was undoubtedly a premature and unlawful declaration of falsified results, which showed the APNU+AFC party as the winner of electoral district number four…You don’t need an interpretation of this. This is from the Commission of Inquiry into the elections.”

Former President Granger hosted a victory party following the contentious March 2, 2020 elections.
This information was recently disclosed during the ongoing trial of the defamation lawsuit filed by Mrs Catherine “Cathy” Hughes, an executive member of the Alliance For Change (AFC) and wife of the party’s leader Nigel Hughes against Vice President Jagdeo.

During the trial, it was revealed that the 2020 general and regional elections in Guyana marked one of the most controversial periods in the nation’s history. The country faced a protracted electoral process that saw allegations of vote-rigging, delays in vote tabulation, and widespread scrutiny from international observers.

Then President Granger led the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), led by Jagdeo, was eventually declared the winner after five months of legal and procedural wrangling.