After a marathon six-hour hearing, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today said it will rule on Wednesday at 3 pm on an appeal related to the March 2nd elections brought by PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo and PPP/C presidential candidate Irfaan Ali.
Jagdeo and Ali are appealing a Guyana Court of Appeal (CoA) decision which sought to insert the word “valid” into provisions of the constitution addressing the election of a President. The Court of Appeal ruling also sought to draw a nexus between Order 60 dealing with the recount and the word valid.
Though the CoA issued no specific orders, its decision inspired Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield to submit a much-criticized report to GECOM in which he single-handedly invalidated over 115,000 votes and sought to hand victory to APNU+AFC when the recount figure showed a win for the PPP/C.
On Wednesday when it hands down its decision, the CCJ panel headed by Justice Adrian Saunders will first have to rule on whether it has jurisdiction in this matter. Counsel for APNU+AFC has argued that the CCJ has no jurisdiction as Article 177 gave exclusive jurisdiction to the CoA. This issue was keenly contested in today’s hearing.
The CCJ decision could be a key moment in bringing a conclusion to the elections drama that has gripped the country since March 2nd.