Elections Petition…PPP wants elections overturned, vote recount

Jun 25, 2015 News

---

..Cites unrest, fake SOPs among reasons
After weeks of indicating that an elections petition to contest the results of the 2015 General and Regional

Elections was underway, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) yesterday filed the petition.
It is seeking fresh elections and a recount of all votes.
Just over a month ago, the APNU+AFC coalition was declared the winner of the elections, a decision that had been fiercely contested since then.
The petition was filed on behalf of the PPP/C by Ganga Persaud. Persaud was the appointed Election Agent of the List of Candidates for the PPP/C for the elections.
According to the petition, the validity of the recently-concluded elections was being called into question.
Persaud claimed that the said elections were “unlawfully conducted” and the result of the elections was affected or might have been affected by unlawful acts or omissions. The petition added that the elections were not held in conformity with the law in relation to elections, more particularly, the Constitution of Guyana and the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03.
In the 19-page petition, the party made up to four demands of the High Court, including the recount of all ballot boxes for the elections. Fresh elections were also called for.
“Your Petitioner [Persaud] prays that the Court may grant such redress in conformity with the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act, Chapter 1:04, as may be just, appropriate and necessary, including, but not limited to, ordering fresh elections to be held in the whole or part, for the purpose of rectifying the said

results,” Persaud stated in the petition.
He went on to request that the court deem fit the reallocation of the seats in the National Assembly.
Along with fresh elections and a general recount,  the PPP also requested that the High Court determine and declare that the whole electoral process was flawed, and contained many procedural errors and instances of fraudulent and/or suspicious actions.
Additionally, the PPP/C requested that the court determine and declare that the refusal of the Returning Officers of the different polling districts to grant a final general count was unlawful.
The number of valid votes cast differs from the number of votes upon which seats in the National Assembly were allocated to that list, the PPP is contending.
Grounds for petition
Unrest, fake statements of polls (SOPs) and multiple voting were among several causes cited when the PPP/C filed its elections petition.
Included in the petition were more than a dozen grounds on which the elections were being contested. These areas were highlighted as playing integral roles for the perceived illegality. Among the causes listed were valid ballots being wrongfully deemed as rejected; arithmetic errors in many SOPs; multiple voting by persons at various polling divisions throughout Guyana; persons not on the Official List of Electors (OLE) being allowed to vote; the impersonation of voters and improperly sealed or unsealed ballot boxes.
Also included in the causes were claims of fake SOPs.
“Many of the Statements of Poll used by GECOM and/or the Chief Election Officer to ascertain the results, were not the Statements of Poll which emanated from the polling stations but were fraudulently concocted and inserted into GECOM’s machinery, and therefore, the data contained thereon is not reflective of the will of the electorate as expressed at those polling stations,” the petition stated.
The presence of “huge mobs” at several polling stations and other strategic places, particularly in Region Four was also cited as another cause. The petition stated that the unrest threatened, intimidated and created fear and tension, which in turn “rendered it impossible for polling and counting agents, duly appointed candidates to the poll and elections agents to carry out their duties and functions properly”.
The petition further said that Persaud had been in contact on a number of occasions with different Commissioners of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). According to Persaud, several issues had been raised during meetings between GECOM’s Commissioners and Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield. Among these issues, Persaud said, were variances in SOPs between those in the possession of the CEO and Returning Officers and differences between GECOM’s official SOPs and others found.
The petition further stated that though repeated requests had been made of GECOM to provide additional information, including photocopies and/or electronic copies of SOPs from each polling station as submitted by Lowenfield, these requests went unanswered.
While Persaud was listed as the Petitioner, nine respondents were listed.
These included CEO Lowenfield, PPP/C’s Presidential Candidate Donald Ramotar, APNU+AFC’s representative Harold Lutchman, and the representatives from other political parties that had contested in the elections.
Persaud has eight Attorneys, including former Attorney General Anil Nandlall.
The elections petition comes less than a day after Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang granted the PPP/C permission to file the petition. The permission was given after an ex-parte application was submitted to the Supreme Court by the party by the said Ganga Persaud.

---

---