Outraged at the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) over what he called the “deceptive” release of elections results to suggest a close race, APNU+AFC alliance presidential candidate David Granger will this morning announce the full count of votes compiled by the coalition and which he says shows an unassailable lead.
Granger said the move to announce all of the results is to quell growing tensions as emotions run high and the nation awaits a formal declaration from Gecom.
“We will be meeting this morning and will release fully our tabulations of Statements of Poll… this is already public knowledge… it shows we have won,” Granger said as he stressed that the Statements of Poll (SoPs) were public documents.
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield announced last evening that results from 1,809 out of a total 2,299 polling stations showed that the APNU+AFC alliance had received 157, 347 votes while the PPP/C received 157, 304 votes for the 2015 general elections.
The coalition, in a press statement issued last night, later condemned what it called Gecom’s “selective announcement” of results and accused it of “cherry picking” Statements of Poll to report on in order to create an illusion of a close race. “This is being specifically done by excluding Statements of Poll from Region 4 where the Coalition has established a significant lead,” it said
After Gecom’s announcement, a disturbed Granger told Stabroek News that he could not understand why all the results Gecom had promised were not delivered.
“The people deserve better from Gecom. It is in nobody’s interest for Gecom to do what it did… the publication of the result in this manner was deliberately deceptive,” he stated.
“Gecom is playing a game, playing mind games and this is disappointing. Why try to create the illusion of parity when it is known that there is no parity, none at all?” he questioned.
He said that the delay in showing at least all of the results of the SoPs, and particularly those from areas such as District 4, which would have established that the coalition had a great lead, could add to increased tensions in an already volatile atmosphere. Granger and a team from the coalition had met with officials of Gecom yesterday afternoon and upon exiting told reporters that the elections body assured them that at Gecom’s scheduled 9PM press conference 94% of the results would be shared with the public.
He expected that the announcement would have, for the time being, eased growing tensions among the populace as the results would have shown that it was impossible for the gap to be bridged.
“We left Gecom at around 5:30PM with the clear impression that all of the statements of poll in their possession would be declared… this clearly was not done,” Granger told Stabroek News shortly after Gecom’s announcement last evening.
He had earlier said that his delegation told Gecom that the silence and “virtual halt” was dangerous for an already tension-filled nation that is eagerly anticipating an announcement.
Campaign co-chair Joseph Harmon urged the populace to remain calm, while declaring that APNU+AFC has won. “Violence will do nothing for us. We are the next government and we are asking you to trust us,” he said.
In its press statement, the coalition pointed out that of a total of 891 SoPs in Region 4, Gecom only reported for 474, leaving 417 and it said it found no acceptable reason for this decision.
“Therefore the announcements made by Gecom this evening are irresponsible, reckless and provocative and appear designed to cause confusion and discord among Guyanese who are already in a state of anxiety and unease,” the statement read.
“APNU+AFC calls on all supporters and the Guyanese public to remain calm and not be provoked by these irresponsible announcements from Gecom,” it added.
