THE National Front Alliance (NFA), a party amongst the governing coalition, has called on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to abide by the law by declaring the final results of the elections.
The party has also cautioned the Commission to safeguard itself from being steered into illegality by the political “power-hungry”. In a letter to the media, the NFA stated that the 2020 General and Regional Elections, based on Regional results already declared by all Returning Officers (ROs), show that the coalition government has won the elections.
For the Commission to now act in any way besides making its overall declaration –in light of recent court rulings — would be gross disregard for the law, according to the NFA.
“The Guyanese nation has been held to ransom for one month over the declaration of the winner of our General Elections, by forces who believe that whatever they stipulate without regard for the law must be the standard by which we must abide. The elections are over, the APNU + AFC coalition has won the battle to keep Guyana on a democratic and peaceful path. The coalition has obeyed the Constitution and has stood resolutely in the face of the machinations of the local and external detractors who cannot deal with their defeat,” their release stated.
“The NFA, a party in the coalition, demands that the Chairperson and Commissioners obey the law and declare the APNU + AFC the winner of the elections. To do otherwise would be illegal as the CEO of GECOM has already declared the winner. Therefore, all claims for a recount is not provided for once his declaration has been made. Such a claim must be rejected.”
The seven-member Commission is currently engaged in a meeting at its High and Cowan Streets office where the way forward is to be determined based on the examination of the ruling of the full court. The NFA posited that since the break down in the tabulation process of Statement of Polls (SOPs) belonging to Region Four, when the figures pointed to the APNU+AFC as the winner, some opposing politicians have been relentlessly disregarding the rule of law.
The party also stated that attacks have come to the President and the APNU+AFC which, through it all, have been abiding by the Constitution and law. The coalition member said that the most recent attack has been made to GECOM and it appears as if these opposing politicians “expect all Guyana to accept their disregard for the law and act according to their dictates”
However, the NFA stated: “Their latest assault is on GECOM with the expectation that the Chairperson and the Commissioners must bent to their will and circumvent the law to satisfy the power-hungry hoard that seek to usurp the place of the legal winner of these elections…to seek to accommodate detractors infamous for breaking down doors would be a travesty to justice and decency. They must be told that an Election Petition to the court is the legal and only way to go. This nation can ill afford to engage in the politics of appeasement at the expense of principles and regard for the law.”
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle-epaper_04_03_2020