Presidential candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Irfaan Ali last evening appealed to the governing coalition to respect the ruling of the High Court yesterday and allow the March 2 elections to be declared using the results of the national recount. The Coalition however has indicated that it will engage the next level of the Court System.
“We cannot overstate the call to this government to act in a responsible manner, to act in the interest of the people of this country, to act with integrity and respect the will of the people and to respect the ruling of the Court,” Ali said in video statement following the ruling of acting Chief Justice Roxane George.
In a 28-page ruling Justice George declared that the issues raised in the case of Misenga Jones vs the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and others had already been adjudicated by higher Courts in the Ulita Moore and Esther David cases. The matters including the constitutionality of Section 22 of Elections Act were res judicata.
“There must be finality to judicial decisions. Myriad persons cannot be permitted to engage the court with multiple applications regarding the same issue which has been decided,” the CJ explained while noting that the 10 declarations made on March 13 had been overtaken by events and could not be resurrected.
The recount order and its results remain legal unless a Court via election petition rules otherwise and the Chief Election Officer as an agent of the Commission is subject to instruction from Chairperson Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, the Chief Justice said .
The result of yesterday’s ruling is that Ali is deemed president based on the recount results which show a victory for his party.
The Coalition however continues to refuse to accept this result.
A statement from campaign manager Joseph Harmon said the party was disappointed in the ruling.
According to Harmon the Court has sidestepped the issue of fraudulent ballots in the tabulated votes at the Recount. This issue was however addressed by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which indicated that an elections petition should be used to settle the issue.
“Unless and until an election court decides otherwise, the votes already counted by the recount process as valid votes are incapable of being declared invalid by any person or authority,” the Court indicated at paragraph 24 of its judgment summary.
Despite this clear pronouncement Harmon went on to claim that his party “will continue to insist that fraudulent recount votes cannot determine the will of the Guyanese People. Only valid votes can produce such a result.”
He goes on to state that “our lawyers will engage at the next level of the Court System to ensure that our Constitution is respected and adhered to by all.”
The APNU+AFC is not a named party in the Misenga Jones case; the applicant is however a party agent for the governing coalition and has been identified as a surrogate for the party. Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde who represented Jones has indicated that an appeal will be filed on her behalf.
In responding to Harmon’s statement the PPP/C lamented the decision to appeal an “unequivocal ruling” and committed to do all they can to protect Guyana’s democracy.
”We are confident that no attempt by APNU/AFC to thwart the will of the electorate will succeed,” they said.
Ali too lamented that by holding on to power the APNU+AFC is possibly exposing Guyana and Guyanese to the impact of sanctions.
“[They] are prepared to have the entire country suffer for their selfish reasons. That is not what leaders do,” he stressed.
The Liberty and Justice Party has similarly called on the incumbent to let go of power.
“Mr Granger stop lying to [your] supporters, stop torturing this nation, call off [your] dogs of war and end this charade. The world knows the PPP won. Let’s get on with it!” they said in a statement last night.
The party stressed that in light of the CJ’s ruling which was comprehensive and clear the approach to the Court of Appeal is a waste of the court’s and country’s time.
“It is an obstruction of the elections declarations…that we are hopeful will levy further sanctions on the perpetrators that continue to torture this nation through this process,” they stressed while calling on Justice Singh to show her mettle and end this torture.
Justice Singh through her lawyer Kim Kyte-Thomas has agreed to delay a declaration if an appeal is filed
