The Guyana Court of Appeal today appears to have cleared the way for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to proceed with a recount of the March 2nd general elections.
The President of the Court, Justice of Appeal, Dawn Gregory this afternoon allowed the appeal of APNU+AFC candidate Ulita Moore in only a narrow part and only in the context that GECOM must not subcontract its supervisory authority to any body.
This aspect of her ruling pertained to Moore’s testimony that a GECOM release on the recount had suggested that the CARICOM team would “supervise” this recount. Justice Gregory said that any such “supervision” would transgress GECOM’s authority.
She said however that the Court of Appeal would not remit the matter to the Court of Justice Franklyn Holder. It was the interpretation that GECOM could proceed with the recount as long as it stayed within its powers.
Justice Barnes said that “any agreement in which supervision of elections is removed from GECOM or assigned or given to any other body would be unlawful”.
It would only be if there was a breach of these supervisory powers that the High Court could resume its inquiry.
Justice Gregory adverted to the “plenitude” of GECOM’s authority in relation to election matters according to the constitution.
The Full Court had thrown out Moore’s case following an appeal by lawyers for the PPP/C.
It is unclear whether Moore’s lawyers will approach the Caribbean Court of Justice but it is likely that GECOM will await the full ruling of the Court of Appeal before proceeding.
Judicial review
Moore had applied to the High Court for judicial review by way of an application in which she contended that GECOM could not order a recount based on an Aide Memoire signed by President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
President Granger had contacted Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, and agreed for a recount to be done following controversy over the tabulation of the votes cast for Region Four, which opposition parties as well as international and many local observers say was not done in a transparent and credible manner.
Following the president’s request, Prime Minister Mottley had put together what she described as an independent high-level CARICOM team, which traveled to Guyana to supervise the recount. This was, however, aborted after Moore filed her application and was granted the injunction against the recount.
In the High Court, Justice Franklyn Holder had granted Moore interim injunctions halting the recount process until her case would have been fully heard and determined.
However, the Opposition challenged this and the Full Court, comprising acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire SC and Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, dismissed Moore’s case and discharged the injunctions on a finding that her matter ought to have come by way of an elections petition as opposed to an application for judicial review.
This was Jagdeo’s position regarding Moore’s case, which he argued that Justice Holder did not have jurisdiction to hear.
