…ECD villages protest as Guyana awaits CCJ ruling on elections
By Naomi Parris
SUPPORTERS of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) + Alliance for change (AFC) coalition, on Monday, staged a country-wide peaceful protest stretching from Berbice, the East Coast of Demerara, Georgetown, all the way to Linden.
The supporters who were seen clad in the party’s colour as well as face masks stood along the public roads of their various communities silently holding up cards which read ‘CCJ must respect Guyana’s Constitution’ and ‘Respect our Sovereignty ’.
Speaking at one of the protests at Plaisance, on the East Coast of Demerara, Region four’s chairwoman, Ms. Genevieve Allen, stated that, on the occasion of the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM’s) 45th anniversary, Guyanese have very little to celebrate as they await the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice in the case against the country’s appeal court.
“Today we are out here demonstrating that the Appeal Court of Guyana has the final say in the affairs of Guyana and I am quite sure that the learned judges of the CCJ know that and I am sure that, on Wednesday, we will hear that the decision is that they don’t have jurisdiction against the appeal court’s decision that was made concerning the March 2nd elections,” she stated.
Additionally, Allen stated that the APNU+AFC government would have transformed Guyana significantly over the past five years while in government, and must be given the chance to continue the work it has started to take Guyana to further development.
Meanwhile, on the Buxton public road, Kidackie Amsterdam, who led several Buxtonians to protest, disclosed that the protest was an impromptu event which saw citizens taking up the initiative to stand with the government that they voted for, and to support the position that the Caribbean Court of Justice has no jurisdiction in Guyana’s elections matter. “We are saying by the show of our presence that we are supportive of the fact that our constitution… the constitution of a sovereign Guyana and article 177-4 says that the appeal court has the exclusive and final jurisdiction in this matter”, Amsterdam told the Guyana Chronicle.
He further noted that supporters are also calling on the CARICOM leaders and other international observers to ‘back down’ and respect Guyana’s sovereignty since they have shown a bias in the current election matter.
During the protest, the Guyana Chronicle caught up with a young first-time voter who expressed disappointment with the proceedings with the March 2nd elections.
‘We are frustrated’
21-year-old Audlie Waton said, “ I’m shocked that the process is taking this long and I think that everyone’s vote should be counted but only the valid votes because a winner cannot be announced on invalid votes because if we are talking about being fair and having credible elections then all valid votes should be counted and I think that the CARICOM observer team, CCJ and other international bodies should insist that all valid votes be counted…I think they should also respect Guyana’s sovereignty.”
In sharing similar sentiments, Devon Brutis who voted for the second time in the general elections disclosed that he did not expect the process to take so long hence he is protesting for the swift swearing-in of a president.
In expressing her frustrations during the protest, one woman, Evette Errod, stated, “All we are hearing is the government is illegal and illegal… then do what is right and swear in one so that we can get law and order. In the absence of law and order there is chaos and we don’t want that kind of confusion, we are one people, one nation, one destiny. We don’t want to destroy anybody; we all should live as one.”
The woman further exclaimed that CARICOM leaders should understand and respect Guyana’s constitution and the courts of the country, “The Court of Appeal remains supreme. CCJ does not have any jurisdiction. Our court of appeal is final and they said only valid votes must be counted.”
Meanwhile, another protestor, Remmington Samuels, stated that he believes the sooner a president is sworn in and parliament resumes, the country will be able to put a control to the rapidly-spreading COVID-19 disease, as well as other affairs. “You know as soon as they swear in a president, we could control the virus because it just keeps climbing and the elections thing just taking away from that.”
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), on Wednesday, is set to make a decision on whether it can assume jurisdiction in a challenge seeking to set aside the ruling of the Court of Appeal that the election of the President must be on the basis of “valid votes.”
President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, who led a panel of five judges, made the announcement on Wednesday (July 1) after hearing more than five hours of legal arguments, virtually, on whether the CCJ has jurisdiction to hear the case filed by People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C’s) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo and Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali; and if it has jurisdiction, whether the Court of Appeal’s decision that the words “more voters are cast” in Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution are interpreted to mean “more valid votes are cast,” should be upheld or set aside. The ruling will be delivered at 15:00hrs on Wednesday, July 8, 2020.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_07_07_2020