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Nothing stopping GECOM from making declaration now – Jagdeo
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo is of the view that, following yesterday’s Court of Appeal ruling, there is nothing preventing the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from moving ahead and declaring the results of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
“We believe that the declaration should be made now on the basis that there is nothing preventing the Commission from moving forward,” Jagdeo said during a live update on his Facebook page.
The Appeal Court yesterday, ruled on the Motion filed by private citizen Eslyn David, that in determining the results of the March 2, 2020 Elections, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield must do so based on who received the most “valid” votes.
She sought from the Appeal Court, a declaration that GECOM failed to act in accordance with the Recount Order, in that they failed to determine a final credible count of the result of the March 2, 2020 Elections, along with an interpretation of the words “more votes are cast” in Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution, and an order restraining the CEO from complying with the instructions of the Chair to prepare his final report without determining the credibility of the General and Regional Elections.
The determination of valid votes, however, according to Jagdeo was already done.
He referenced both the Statements of Recount (SORs) and the Tabulation Certificates accumulated at the end of the recount, which clearly states the word “valid”. This now sets the stage for a declaration to be made.
He said, “They had already determined what valid votes were. The validity of the votes have already been determined and they have recorded in all of the statutory forms. So there is nothing that stops the declaration at this point in time. No Court ruling, No Court order. They cannot take away the powers of the Commission and vest it in Lowenfield or in Congress Place.”
While Jagdeo noted that the ruling did not sway in their favour, he did agree with the court when they ruled that ‘more votes’ meant ‘more valid votes’. Those valid figures, according to him, would emerge from the recount numbers.
The Chairman of GECOM, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh had instructed Lowenfield to submit his final report using the figures from the recount. Those figures would show a victory for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) with a total of 233,336 votes, making Irfaan Ali the next President of Guyana.
However, David’s Motion against him prevented that report from being submitted.
Jagdeo hinted at the possibility of the matter reaching to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) – a court he believes has the jurisdiction to hear an appeal.
“We believe we know that the CCJ has jurisdiction on this matter, we believe even that this ruling will be set aside and this ruling itself has not injuncted or does not prevent from making a declaration now on the basis on what they have already determined and on the basis of total valid votes.”
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