Judge orders recount in Guyana elections
ACTING CHIEF Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire ruled on Wednesday that the declaration made by the returning officer in Region Four in Guyana’s disputed regional and general elections on March 2 was “unlawful” and in breach of the Representation of the People’s Act.
In a lengthy ruling, the acting chief justice acknowledged that her ruling would be of national importance and would evoke widespread interest.
“I understand that whatever rulings are made today are likely to excite emotions of different kinds from the parties involved as well as the wider audience and community,” she told the court.
The High Court had to decide whether the injunction granted to a supporter of the main opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) to block the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from declaring the results of the elections was justified on the grounds that the votes declared for Region Four were not completely verified.
Last Thursday, Justice Navindra Singh granted the injunction against GECOM, Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield, and returning officer for Region Four Clairmont Mingo.
But four days after polls were held, GECOM released to the media results for Region Four which, if certified, would have resulted in the ruling coalition, A Partnership for National Unity, plus the Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), defeating the main opposition PPP/C by more than 59,000 votes and securing another term in office.
GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward had forwarded without comment images of Statutory Declaration Form 24. The form shows the incumbent
APNU+AFC securing 136,335 votes while the PPP/C has earned 77,258 – a difference of 59,077.
In her ruling, the acting chief justice said that she did not agree with the declaration being sought that GECOM “is the only body constitutionally and statutorily authorised to declare the results of the general election pursuant to Section 96 to be necessary”, adding, “this is a given fact.”
She said the court orders “that the declaration made on the 5th of March 2020, by the returning officer in District Four for the total votes cast in District Four were unlawful as being in breach of Section 84 (1) of the Representation of the People’s Act ... and is null, void, and of no effect.”