The High Court has granted an interim injunction blocking the national recount of ballots that should have started Tuesday evening at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
The injunction, which was granted by Justice Franklin Holder in the High Court on Tuesday, was filed by a private citizen, Ulita Grace Moore, against GECOM; its Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh; and the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield. Moore, who is being represented by Attorneys-at-Law Mayo Robertson secured a total of four interim orders, which will in effect bring the electoral process to a halt until the judicial review is completed.
Chief among the orders granted by the High Court is an interim injunction restraining the Elections Commission from setting aside, varying or substituting the declarations of the Returning Officers of the 10 Electoral Districts with any other document until the hearing and determination of the judicial review application. The interim injunction has also tied the hands of the Chief Elections Officer. “An Interim Injunction is hereby granted restraining the Chief Elections Officer from submitting any Report of the total votes cast for each List of Candidates pursuant to Section 96 (1) and (2) of the Representation of the People Act save and except the votes counted and the information furnished by the Returning Officer under Section 84 (1) of the Representation of the People Act until the hearing and determination of the judicial review application…” Justice Holder said as he granted the second order.
GECOM is also barred from authorising any agreement with the President of Guyana and the Leader of the Opposition and or itself with CARICOM until a final determination is made by the High Court. The GECOM Chair and Chief Elections Officer are also being restrained, temporarily, from authorising any person or persons to facilitate a recount of the ballots cast by the elections on March 2, 2020.
In laying down the grounds for the application, Moore, through her attorneys told the High Court that though the votes cast in the General and Regional Elections were tabulated in accordance with the Representation of the People’s Act, Chapter 1:03, the declaration issued by the Region 4 Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, on March 5, 2020, was invalidated by the High Court, and a second declaration made on March 13, in accordance with the orders issued by the Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire. Robertson, on behalf of the applicant, was keen on pointing out that applications for recounts made to the Returning Officers for a number of Electoral Districts were refused, including applications for a recount to be done in Region 4.
It was noted that while the Chief Elections Officer, pursuant to Section 96 (2) of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03, had tabulated the total number of valid votes cast, and had prepared and submitted his report to the Elections Commission, GECOM has failed and or refused to make the declaration. “Pursuant to Section 99, the Commission, upon receipt of such report, was mandated to make a public declaration of the results of the elections in accordance with Section 99 of Chapter 1:03,” Robertson argued.
The attorney also brought the Court’s attention to a statement issued by GECOM’s Chair indicating that the Elections Commission would accede to and implement an agreement made between the Head of State and the Leader of the Opposition for a recount of all the votes cast during the just concluded elections. Such a recount, he noted, would be subjected to supervision by a high-level CARICOM delegation. While the move was taken to restore trust in the electoral process, which has since encountered a number of stumbling blocks, Robertson submitted to the High Court that the Elections Commission would be in breach of the Constitution and the Representation of the People’s Act, were it to proceed with the CARICOM led initiative.
“Article 161 B of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana expressly forbid political parties and their nominees from being involved in the management of the electoral process. Article 162(1)(a) imposes a non- delegatable duty on the Commission ‘to exercise general direction and supervision over the registration of electors and the administrative conduct of all elections of members of the National Assembly,’ and any agreement, whether between the President of Guyana, H. E. David Granger and the Leader of the Opposition the Honourable Mr. Bharat Jagdeo or otherwise authorizing a CARICOM delegation to supervise any recount of votes of the elections held on 2nd March 2020, is wholly void as being contrary to the Constitution,” Robertson submitted to the Court.
He said it is Moore’s legitimate expectation that GECOM will comply with the provisions of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, more specifically, Section 99 of the Act.
“If the Respondent is not restrained by this Honourable Court, it will proceed to embark upon the said recount in breach of the letter and spirit of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03,” Robertson said. The Judicial Review of the Fixed Date Application (FDA) Application will be conducted on Friday, March 20, 2020 at 9:00hrs in the High Court. In that FDA, Moore is seeking a total of 25 declarations from the High Court. In effect, the declarations, if granted, would set aside any decision of the Elections Commission to facilitate a recount, thereby paving the way for the Chief Elections Officer to submit his report to the Elections Commission for a final declaration of the results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_03_18_2020