The incumbent APNU+AFC yesterday claimed that there was “a carefully orchestrated plan to oust a legitimately elected government and to im-plement regime change”, a contention which has been dismissed by the PPP.
In a statement APNU+AFC also maintained that GECOM must not include alleged “fraudulent” votes in a final declaration.
APNU+AFC has been completely isolated by what has been seen in the local and international communities as outlandish and baseless claims about the elections. APNU+AFC has also been the intended beneficiary of several attempts by senior GECOM officials to rig the March 2nd general elections.
In the statement, APNU+AFC said it noted GECOM’s “current position that fraudulent votes be included in the final tabulations” emerging from the 33-day recount process and insists that all fraudulent votes must be excluded.
This statement by APNU+AFC is false as GECOM is relying on the recount result which has been recognised by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as pertaining to valid votes. A challenge to these votes can only be done by way of an election petition.
APNU+AFC said that in its press release of June 7, 2020 it noted with disappointment the decision of GECOM to tabulate and include over 11,000 “fraudulent” votes found in 47 ballot boxes from the East Coast of Demerara.
This statement is also false as the votes in the 47 ballot boxes were properly validated and counted on March 2nd and the ballots were again counted during the recount. APNU+AFC has complained that statutory documents which should have been present with the ballots during the recount were not seen and hence the votes should be invalidated. GECOM has not agreed with this APNU+AFC position.
“In 63 letters of correspondence to (the) Chair and (the) Secretariat of GECOM over the last three months, the Coalition requested that these and other issues which were `parked’ be dealt with. It speaks volumes to note that the APNU+AFC received 6 responses to their 63 letters. As a major stakeholder in these elections we find this totally unacceptable and reiterate that fraudulent votes must be excluded in a final count. These concerns must be addressed if we are to move forward”, APNU+AFC declared.
It said that it entered into the recount process with the expectation that the misgivings regarding the Mingo declarations would be investigated.
“Unlike 1997 President David Granger did not have himself sworn in secretly, but suggested a recount as we have nothing to hide. What came out of the process was indications of massive fraud and `rigging’ perpetrated and to the benefit of the PPP”, APNU+AFC alleged. Observers have pointed out that President Granger could not have been secretly sworn in even if he wanted to as it would have had to have been preceded by a GECOM meeting to certify the final results. APNU+AFC’s claims that there was rigging to benefit the PPP was not borne out by the report of the CARICOM observers who had been deemed as the most “legitimate interlocutors’ by Granger. These observers found that the recount provided a perfectly valid basis for the declaration of a result.
APNU+AFC yesterday further stated that the Gazetted Order 60 of 2020 outlined an approach and as Appeal Court Judge Brassington Reynolds in his ruling stated “Counsel for the second-named respondent [Chairperson of Gecom, Justice Ret’d Claudette Singh] admitted that GECOM did set as its objective, determining the final credible count of votes ”
It is unclear what relevance that statement has as the CCJ threw out Justice Reynolds’ ruling including his contention that Order 60 had created a new election regime.
“With this in mind we find it unconscionable that the fraud found in 1261 infected boxes, revealed under the watchful eyes and in the presence of local and international observ-ers, members of the diplomatic community and election agents from all the political parties received no condemnation. These groups with their continued silence on this fraud have displayed their absence of fairness and impartiality which has spawned a suspicion and lack of trust amongst the more that 236,000+ APNU+AFC supporters who voted in these elections. This threatens the stability of Guyana”, APNU+AFC said.
No credible observer group has lent any help to APNU+AFC. CARICOM and the Organisation of American States have found no evidence to support the claims of fraud made by APNU+AFC during the recount.
The coalition further said that the threat of COVID-19, unfolding events in Venezuela and the “constant threatening comments directed to GECOM, the President, Government officials and supporters when GECOM has not yet made a declaration is a clear indication of a carefully orchestrated plan to oust a legitimately elected government and to implement regime change by some entities and not a genuine desire to assist Guyana at his difficult time.
These developments are contrary to the democratic principles this coalition Government has held dear.
“APNU+AFC calls for a credible vote, since in the bundle of tabulated votes rests several votes which are fraudulent. Deci-sions in relation to issues raised by APNU+AFC are awaited”.
These claims by APNU+AFC have found no support. GECOM Chair Claudette Singh has said that the recount figures will be used to declare the result. The recount shows a win for the opposition PPP/C. GECOM is awaiting the conclusion of a case before the Guyana Court of Appeal before possibly moving ahead with the declaration.
Yesterday, the opposition PPP rejected the APNU+AFC claims.
It said that the APNU+AFC statement “clearly, cannot be intended for sane, right-thinking Guyanese. It seems written for a ‘captured’ David Granger who needs repeated convincing of the line being pushed by the Coalition’s Joseph Harmon and others and will no doubt be taken to Mr. Granger as ‘evidence’ of the (delusional) notion of an electoral victory.
“It rehashes a set of issues that have long been overtaken by events and judicial pronouncements from both the High Court and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). It continues to recite the ridiculous and unsubstantiated allegations made by APNU+AFC at the recount exercise; it accuses the PPP of rigging; it attacks Order 60 of 2020 and it quotes Justice Brassington Reynolds’ ruling in the Court of Appeal in the Eslyn David case, which was set aside by the CCJ.
“… (the author) erases the existence of a report produced by David Granger’s most `legitimate interlocutors’, the CARICOM team, who dismissed their allegations of irregularities as erroneous, unsubstantiated and of nuisance value only, while endorsing the recount as credible and transparent and calling for the results of the recount to be used as the basis for the declaration of the final results of the elections”, the PPP said.
It added that the author of this statement also ignores a 60-page judgement from Guyana’s highest court, the CCJ, which not only set aside Justice Reynolds’ decision in the Court of Appeal in the Eslyn David case, but also vacated Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield’s fraudulent report to the Guyana Elections Commission as well as endorsed the recount process as legal, fair and credible.
The PPP added: “Similarly, the statement omits to mention a word of the Chief Justice’s recent ruling in the Misenga Jones case, in which she dismissed a case based upon the identical sentiments expressed in the very statement.
“Finally, the delusional author of this statement repeats the outrageous allegation of a national and international conspiracy to oust the APNU+AFC from Government. If anything at all, this statement is proof to the world that the rigging cabal has clearly lost their minds and remains a threat of danger to Guyana and its people”.
