Mar 17, 2020
High Court Judge Franklyn Holder this afternoon granted an injunction to set aside the national recount of votes cast in the March 02, 2020 Regional and General Elections.
The decision comes after an agreement for a national recount was reached by President David Granger, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and the CARICOM Secretariat. The national recount was scheduled to take place under the supervision of a high level team from CARICOM. The team was scheduled to commence the recount of ballots from all ten regions yesterday.
Their efforts were nonetheless met with several delays, as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) mulled the legal implications of a national recount at this time.
The commission had announced earlier today that they were seeking legal guidance on the way forward. However there was no word on that advice, as GECOM was served with the injunction to block the recount this afternoon.
According to the document, Justice Holder granted an interim order blocking the Elections Commission from setting aside the declarations made by the ten electoral districts.
An order was also made restraining the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission, Keith Lowenfield, from preparing and submitting a report to the commission, except the votes counted and the information furnished by the Returning Officer under the Representation of the People Act. The injunction is in force until the hearing and determination of the matter. The hearing is set to commence on Friday, March 20, 2020.
