PPP appeals court ruling on AFC nominators list

Oct 29, 2018 News

The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has filed an appeal against the ruling of Justice Navindra Singh in a case filed against GECOM after some 50 persons from Berbice claimed they were tricked into signing an Alliance for Change (AFC) nominators’ list.
According to the grounds of Appeal, the PPP through their representative Shafraz Beekham is contending that the Judge erred and misdirected himself in law by relying on the police report which consisted of inadmissible evidence, incredible assertions and unsolicited conclusions rather than to be guided by the sworn affidavit evidence of over 50 persons which were before the Court.
“Assuming that the said police report was based upon and constituted admissible and credible evidence upon which Judge could have premised his decision, the applicant is saying that the Judge still erred and misdirected himself in law, by failing to take into account and gave appropriate weight to over twelve (12) assertions in the said report,“ the Court document added.
That report claimed that the persons whose signatures appeared as nominators of candidates for the Alliance For Change in the Whim/Bloomfield Local Authority Area did not understand the nature and purport of the documents which they signed; those who procured these signatures did so by misrepresenting themselves as representatives of the Guyana Elections Commission or persons associate with the People’s Progressive Party Civic; those who procured these signatures did so by misrepresenting the nature and purport of the documents for which they were soliciting the signatures; and various forms of inducements were offered in the solicitation of the signatures of these persons.
Additionally it was contended that the police report submitted to Justice Navindra Singh in the High Court in Berbice totally misrepresented what the residents of the Whim/Bloomfield Local Authority Area claimed they told to the police during interviews that were supposed to be used to compile that report.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has come out swinging against Tuesday’s dismissal of a case that sought to compel the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to remove names from a backers list; noting that underhand tactics were used during the hearing.
The persons who were present in Court explained to the media after the Court hearing that the Report did not accurately reflect what they said to Police Officers who interviewed them.
This was confirmed by officials of the PPP/C who were present when these interviews were conducted by the Police.
“In the end, no matter how much you turn it or twist it,” the PPP representatives noted that “the bottom line is these AFC candidates have 50 (fifty) persons who are on public record saying to the world that they are not supporting the candidates they are supposed to be backing.”
“Yet the Court refused to interfere with this violation of these persons fundamental right to support a political party of their choice by removing their names from those lists,” the party representatives contended.

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