…but only in the case of Mingo, Lowenfield
Pullquote …“The Constitution empowers the commission to correct things in the interest of fairness and impartiality and therefore the Constitution has all the powers and empowers the commission to act when you have a clear case of not one but two rogue elements of the secretariat.”
At a press conference on Thursday, while expressing his frustration with the halt in declaration of the March 2020 elections, People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, contradicted views previously held by his party that the Elections Commission has no power to correct wrongdoings which hinder the credibility of an election.
The party has argued that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has no powers to correct the anomalies, irregularities or voter impersonation coming out of the elections and the APNU+AFC must take its concerns to the Court, after a declaration is made, in the form of an elections petition.
However, while accusing Region Four Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo and the CEO of electoral fraud, Jagdeo flipped over to the opposite position that the commission does have the power to correct wrongdoings which affect its process. He stated: “The Constitution empowers the commission to correct things in the interest of fairness and impartiality and therefore the Constitution has all the powers and empowers the commission to act when you have a clear case of not one but two rogue elements of the secretariat.”
However, the party does not apply the same position to the CEO’s report which found thousands of cases of wrongdoings. When Lowenfield submitted his summary/report of the national recount on June 13, he had noted that, undoubtedly, cases of irregularities, anomalies and voter impersonation were present in the elections. Though the count of the ballots puts the PPP/C in the lead, he outlined 4,864 cases of voter impersonation and more than 2,000 anomalies which have affected over 200,000 votes.
The CEO also stated that the presence of these cases hinders him from determining that the elections were credible. He concluded that the election: “… clearly does not appear to satisfy the criteria of impartiality, fairness, and compliance with provisions of the Constitution and the ROPA Cap 1:03.”
After a meeting of commissioners, the GECOM Chair directed that the CEO prepare a final report for the declaration. The APNU+AFC has since contended that the CEO, according to Section 96 of the Representation of the Peoples Act, can only declare valid votes. Section 96 of the Representation of the Peoples Act states: “The Chief Election Officer shall calculate the total number of valid votes of electors which have been cast for each list of candidates and thereupon shall ascertain the result of the election in accordance with sections 97 and 98. 97.”
Meanwhile, the PPP/C were optimistic that the report would result in the swearing-in of PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali, as the new president of Guyana. With the Notice of Motion now in existence, the nation, once again, awaits a conclusion to the elections.
PPP/C EXECUTIVES UPSET
Jagdeo said that his party’s position is that the court has no jurisdiction on the matter which has presented itself as a “disguised elections petition”. “What they’re trying to do is to have a court rule that Lowenfield’s fraudulent numbers can be used to declare the results of the elections,” he said, adding: “You cannot say to the commission which is empowered to make the final declaration…that they are a rubber stamp and whatever Lowenfield submits to the commission the commission must dutifully accept that and declare on the basis of that.”
Meanwhile, former Attorney General and PPP/C Executive, Anil Nandlall, referred to the interruption as a “nuisance-value litigation” which has no prospects of success. “It raises no serious questions of law. It is absolutely frivolous and vexatious and will be dismissed,” he said on his Facebook page on Thursday afternoon, adding: “It is simply designed to stall and must be rejected by GECOM. The Chairperson, an experienced former Court of Appeal Judge, would clearly see it for what it is: specious, wholly without merit and an abuse of the process of the court.”
Former Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, also chimed in: “Nothing stops GECOM from doing its job. Nothing stops Lowenfield from doing what he is mandated to do. The declaration can and ought to be made. We in Guyana know the results. The world knows the results. This is just another attempt to rig the 2020 election.” Meanwhile, the pending declaration has been a matter of grave dispute with increasing calls by the APNU+AFC and their supporters for the results to be declared solely on valid votes cast as only such can truly represent the will of the people.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_06_19_2020