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AFC leader wants elections annulled – Says fresh elections needed, as March 2 poll was “not fair nor credible”
By Shikema Dey
Alliance For Change leader and Prime Ministerial hopeful, Khemraj Ramjattan wants the March 2 Elections annulled and fresh elections called, saying that the March 2 polls were neither fair nor credible.
Prime Ministerial hopeful and AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan
He made these comments in response to questions from Kaieteur News about whether the AFC accepts the results of the recount, in light of the report of the CARICOM Scrutinizing Team’s assessment that the elections were credible and the recount could be used as the basis for the declaration of a winner.
“Will attend to your questions, after a mature deliberation of the CARICOM report,” Ramjattan stated.
He has, however, report on the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield on the recount results and observations. In that report, the CEO said that none of the district elections could be ascertained to meet the standard of fairness and credibility. He buttressed these assertions on the bases of irregularities observed during the recount, as well as the allegations made by APNU+AFC which the CEO said were “of substance” after checks were made with the Immigration Department and General Registrar’s Officer.
In responding to Kaieteur News, Ramjattan said that “A cue can be taken” when I say that I am impressed with the CEO’s summaries which I have deliberated on thoroughly.”
According to the AFC leader, from the findings of the recount as outlined in Lowenfield’s report and his own presence at the recount, “the Elections were neither fair nor credible in my opinion.”
The process, he said, “should be annulled and fresh elections called.”
Ramjattan and other representatives of the APNU+AFC Coalition have repeatedly stated recently that the March 2 elections were not credible
In contrast, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) and A New and United Guyana (ANUG) have held that to annul the elections would be the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court, after it has investigated the elections in the form of an elections petition. But while those parties note the Court as the appropriate avenue for an aggrieved party to seek redress, they hold the view that the Coalition only wants the elections annulled because it knows it lost. The CARICOM report also noted the option of an elections petition in its report on the National Recount, though it also noted that the elections were credible and should constitute the basis on which a declaration is made.
Ramjattan was the sole respondent, though he only did so in part, to a series of questions posed by Kaieteur News to the constituent parties of the APNU+AFC coalition, in light of the report from the CARICOM team. The questions, centering on acceptance of the elections results, a political audit of GECOM, an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the manipulation of the Region Four elections results, and proof of the coalition’s claims of fraud, were also sent to PNCR Executive, Aubrey Norton; and Working People’s Alliance (WPA) members David Hinds and Tabitha Sarabo-Halley.
Hinds told this newspaper that he would answer in his personal capacity, and that he cannot speak for the WPA as the party “has not yet come to conclusions about the election.” However, up to press time, no responses were sent. Kaieteur News also made calls to Justice For All Party (JFAP), Chandra Narine Sharma; WPA executive, Rupert Roopnaraine; and Guyana Action Party (GAP) Leader Sydney Allicock.
The questions were also forwarded to President David Granger’s Director of Public Information Service, Arianna Gordon who noted receipt. While Gordon said she would keep in touch, she could not commit to a timeline for responses. Up to press time, Kaieteur News received no answers.
(Additional Reporting by Kemol King)
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