Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice Ret’d Claudette Singh wrote Police Commissioner Leslie James on May 22nd asking for information on the allegations made by APNU+AFC that people who were not in country on March 2nd were ticked off on polling stations lists as having voted.
In her letter, Singh said: “The APNU/AFC is alleging that persons whose names and dates of birth appear on the list attached had migrated and could not have exercised their franchise on March 2, 2020.
“In this regard I shall be grateful if you will be so kind as to cause the Immigration Department to verify whether these persons were out of the country on March 2, 2020. The respective polling divisions and stations where these persons allegedly voted are also identified on the list.
“The Commission would wish this matter to be urgently addressed”.
Sources told Stabroek News that Singh wrote the Top Cop without discussing this at a meeting of GECOM and a reply with information has since been received from James. The letter to James had not been made public by Singh but is now in circulation.
The sources say that Singh is going beyond her remit in seeking to find information in relation to allegations made by APNU+AFC. It has been argued that Singh is meant only to oversee a recount of the votes from March 2nd and declare a result on that basis. The varied claims of the coalition have been rebuffed as spurious. It has also been pointed out that the High Court has the exclusive mandate to investigate claims of electoral malpractices.
