President Donald Ramotar last night declared that he was not conceding Monday’s elections even though the Elections Commission Chairman said 21 Statements of Poll (SoPs) cited by the PPP/C as defective showed no errors when they were checked.
Earlier, at a news conference at Freedom House, Ramotar held firm that the PPP/C has gathered enough evidence to show that the elections were “clearly rigged” and maintained that this in itself was enough justification for its request for a total recount of votes casted.
A visibly agitated Ramotar said that failure to honour their request would result in a government which is “undemocratic” and “illegitimate.” “I am telling them now as far as I understand no results has come out as yet… I will ask them to wait a little more. I think what is at stake here is democracy in our country,” was his message to the public who has been waiting anxiously since Monday for the final results.
Up to press time last evening, there was no word from the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) on the request, which was one of three made yesterday morning by a PPP/C delegation headed by Ramotar that met with the commission. Gecom subsequently indicated that after noon today in accordance with the law it will pronounce on a final declaration, while plans were being made last evening for the subsequent swearing in of Granger.
Based on preliminary results, the APNU+AFC coalition amassed 206,817 votes to the PPP/C’s 201,457 votes at the polls to win both the presidency and control of the 65-seat National Assembly.
Gecom Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said later yesterday that Ramotar agreed to concede defeat if the objected to SoPs showed errors and that this process was done and verified by PPP/C-nominated commissioners and no error in the figure was noted.
“All of the 21 boxes, taken into evidence, that they said the numbers have changed, they in fact had not… they were exactly the same,” Surujbally said of the official SoPs that were checked against those of the PPP/C’s.
The Gecom Chairman listed the ballot boxes as Nos. 4216, 4223, 4237, 4266, 4267, 4279, 4287, 4292, 4323, 4352, 4358, 4359, 4385, 4392, 4643, 4644, 4656, 4701, 4703, 4707 and 4723.
However, in response, the President last night told Stabroek News that maybe the Gecom Chairman misunderstood what he meant as his challenge was not to the SoPs but for an actual ballot count from any one of seven boxes randomly chosen by the elections body. Ramotar said that until this is done he will fervently fight and will not concede that he had lost until his concern was addressed.
“I said one box, then Surujbally said we can count all the 22 boxes and I said that is even better…they didn’t count any so I am not proven wrong,” Ramotar said before adding that all that he said was witnessed by Gecom’s commissioners.
Observers say that the days-old objections by the PPP/C to the May 11th elections results was rapidly descending into farce as evidenced by the differing interpretation of this
latest challenge thrown out by the ruling party to Gecom.
‘Hoax’
Ramotar last night also dismissed reports of him conceding the general elections to the diplomatic community, saying that it was a “total and absolute hoax” as the nation which he serves would be privy first to such a decision. “It is not true. I haven’t spoken to anybody for the day. Why would I concede to the diplomatic community? They are not running this country, as far as I am aware,” he told Stabroek News.
“How can I go and concede when I am saying the elections are rigged and these people are refusing to open even one ballot [box]? How can I do that? I am doing the honourable thing. I can’t abandon the people who voted for me. How can I do that? It’s against my complete make up,” he added.
He said that he will maintain and exhaust all legal options provided by the constitution to prove that the PPP/C was correct when it said it had been cheated of votes countrywide. He contended that there were disparities in numbers from a series of SoPs released by Gecom on Thursday.
“From the seven, take any one of those, open the box, check the votes in the box, it will take less than ten minutes to do that and if I am right I think we should have a recount of these elections and if I am wrong, from any one of these seven boxes that I have given you, then I will concede the elections,” Ramotar said.
“They are refusing to open the box. All I am saying is that when we went to the SoPs that the ROs (Returning Officers) were using…the figures that they were using to tally the votes differed from the place of poll where they were signed off. If I am wrong, if the elections commission is challenging that, open the box and physically check and if I am wrong I am willing to concede,” he added.
Observers say Ramotar’s insistence on checking the ballot boxes was reminiscent of the PNC’s challenge in 1997 to the PPP/C’s Janet Jagan’s election as President. The PNC’s objections led to the establishment of the costly and prolonged Caricom Audit Commission, which went back
into the ballot boxes but could find no material discrepancy that would alter the election result.
The president last night said he will use all avenues available in law to political parties in an elections and have his voice heard.
“All I am doing is following procedures that the Laws of Guyana, including what the constitution of Guyana has provided for me or for anyone for that matter. I have no interest in obstructing and prolonging any of these things. I am standing up. This is the integrity of the elections and the elections commission because this case I have brought to them questions the elections commission itself…that this election was not only rigged outside but inside of Gecom itself,” he said.
Meanwhile, members of the APNU+AFC coalition yesterday morning met with Gecom insisting that the commission make the official declaration of the elections result, however the commission has stated that it has until noon today to make the public declaration.
‘Differences’
At a midday news conference, Ramotar said that he led a delegation from the PPP/C List of Candidates that met with Gecom officials inclusive of the Chairman, the Chief Election Officer, and five of the six commissioners.
At that meeting, he said, he detailed to Gecom that “our party has identified serious differences in numbers between our Statement of Polls and the data which Gecom is using in tabulating the result of the 2015 general and regional elections.”
He said that significantly these differences disclose a consistent pattern of a subtraction of votes from the PPP/C and additions to that very number to the APNU/AFC.
During the meeting, the PPP/C made three requests of Gecom: a recount of the ballot boxes for contentious SoPs; that the recount be done in the presence of all political parties and the observer teams; and that the process of tabulation and disclosure of results be put on hold until the recount is completed.
Later, Ramotar as former President Bharrat Jagdeo would have done less than twenty four hours earlier, produced a document showing figures that was different from those released by Gecom. He claimed that the figures they have gathered from viewing several SoPs show the PPP/C receiving more votes than the coalition and not less as is being revealed by Gecom. “A clear pattern has been established of what went on in doctoring the statements of polls,” he said adding that the PPP has copies of the posted SoPs which is proof of a difference in the votes tabulated for the two main campaigns.
According to Ramotar, based on what they have seen so far, there is a major difference in the votes allocated to the PPP/C and this will surpass the 5,360 difference between its tally and that of the opposition coalition.
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield had told reporters that he did not expect any “significant” variance between the preliminary results and the final results.
Meanwhile, a reporter attempted to ask a question about the acceptance of some ministers that the PPP/C has lost but Ramotar, who was clearly in a bad mood, opted not to answer, while saying that the press conference was called to deal with the integrity of the elections and what was being asked was not important and can be addressed at another time.
Prime Ministerial Candidate, Elisabeth Harper, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Robeson Benn, Pauline Sukhai and Dr. Leslie Ramsammy accompanied Ramotar to the press conference.
‘The people have spoken’
Up to yesterday, some PPP/C candidates had signaled that they accepted the results released so far. “Gecom and the people have spoken….congrats to the victors….the PPP will remain a strong party in the years to come,” PPP/C candidate Clinton Urling posted on his Facebook page immediately after Gecom’s announcement of the preliminary results on Thursday.
A letter from former Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett to her staff also suggested that she had accepted the results.
In an email that was seen by Stabroek News, Minister Rodrigues-Birkett thanked the staff “for ensuring that [her] stay at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a rewarding and happy one.” She added that the time has now come “for [her] to say farewell.”
A Facebook post by former Minister of Natural Resources Robert Persaud was less clear.
Persaud, in his post, noted that the preliminary results of “50.6% – 49.4% confirm that an appropriate national inclusive governance mechanism must be brought to the front burner.” When asked by Stabroek News to clarify whether his comment was an indication that he had accepted the results as announced by Gecom, Persaud refused to confirm or deny. “I prefer to leave that up to my followers and peeps to interpret how they want,” he said. When asked if he could confirm his stance independent of the post, Persaud advised that we follow him on Facebook and Twitter to learn his thoughts.
There was no need, however, to wonder about the meaning of a post by Ambassador Emiritus Odeen Ishmael, Guyana’s ambassador to Kuwait. “Time to concede,” he wrote. “It is my firm opinion that the PPP should concede since any recount will not statistically change the result of the elections as announced by GECOM. Good leadership is essential especially at this time; and by conceding and with the outgoing president meeting with the incoming president and offering working cooperation, at least that will be aptly demonstrated clearly to all Guyanese.”
Ishmael had previously served as a Central Committee member of the PPP.
Peter Ramsaroop, a new candidate of the PPP/C, had on May 14th, posted on his Facebook page what many interpreted to be an acceptance of Gecom’s preliminary results. But the post was removed after senior members of the PPP, including Ramotar, refused to accept the results. Ramsaroop later issued a press release in which he claimed that there had been massive fraud in the counting of votes.
Ramsaroop said when Gecom announced the results he had “initially” thought the process was over and was “willing to offer…congratulations.” Since that time he asserted that he had been privy to the irregularities that warrant a full recount. (Additional reporting by Zoisa Fraser and Thandeka Percival)
