Former President David Granger in a Facebook address today maintained his position that the declared results of the March 2nd elections were not acceptable and he accused the PPP/C government of giving former APNU+AFC government officials an unreasonable amount of time to leave their lodgings.
Granger saidL “The PNC repeats its assertion that fraudulent votes should not have been held to represent the will of the electorate”. This, he said, “violates fundamental principles of democracy.” The Guyana Elections Commission declaration should have only been made on “valid” votes, he maintained, although several courts have clarified that the votes of the recount were valid.
“The PNC cannot endorse a flawed report and will continue its campaign to ensure that the votes of all Guyanese are accurately recorded, tallied and reported. The recount process revealed a plethora of anomalies”, Granger asserted.
He added that the recount was meant to determine both the quantitative and qualitative character of the votes cast at the General and Regional Elections and to determine a final credible count at the end of the recount.
“However it became manifest that the result did not meet the standard of a credible election. The PNC in the national interest and with the view to preserving peace and maintaining order has acted responsibly throughout this prolonged political crisis. We implore all Guyanese to remain calm and peaceful. The PNC will challenge the declared result lawfully. We urge our members, supporters and friends who have been patient throughout our campaign and the post-election process to continue to conduct themselves in a lawful and peaceful manner”.
He expressed appreciation for everyone who participated in the elections and brought passion, power and patriotism to the exercise.
“Our struggle for justice continues”, he added.
Granger and his APNU+AFC coalition had been accused of seeking to benefit from the rigging of the District Four count by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo on March 5th. His count gave a win to the coalition but a court order prevented the final result from being declared and this then led to an agreement for a contentious recount of votes. This was followed by a series of related court actions which made it all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice. The recount result was finally declared on August 2nd by GECOM Chair Justice (rtd) Claudette Singh, handing victory to the PPP/C.
Earlier in his address today, Granger said that “Former ministers whose normal residences are located in rural and hinterland regions were swiftly ordered to vacate their government quarters unreasonably within 36 hours. Public servants were locked out of their offices without explanation. Contracted officials were threatened with arbitrary and summary termination of their services”. He then issued a warning to the new government over this behaviour.
His address can be found at:
