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Appeal Court kicks-out Coalition’s Election petition appeal
Kaieteur News – In a significant ruling on Monday, the Court of Appeal (COA) unanimously rejected the Appeal filed by APNU-AFC against Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, SC decision to dismiss Election Petition No. 88.
This petition, presented in the names of Claudette Thorne and Heston Bostwick, challenged the legitimacy of the March 02, 2020, Guyana elections recount.
Chief Justice Roxane George, SC previously ruled on April 26, 2021, affirming the lawful conduct of the election and finding no breaches, violations, or non-compliance with Guyana’s electoral laws by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). However, APNU+AFC Parliamentarian and Attorney, Roysdale Forde, representing the petitioners, contended in the appeal that the Chief Justice had erred in her judgment by not considering the petition’s core objectives.
The Court of Appeal
Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud presided over the matter. The COA’s ruling supported Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, SC’s submissions, reaffirming the Chief Justice’s decision. The Court affirmed the constitutionality and validity of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act 2001 and Order 60, concluding that the national recount conducted by GECOM was lawful, constitutional, and compliant with the Separation of Powers Doctrine.
The Court found that the Appellants failed to demonstrate the alleged unconstitutionality and illegality against the Election Laws (Amendment) Act and Order 60. GECOM’s actions, exercised within Article 162 of the Constitution and its statutory powers under the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, including crafting Order 60 to address challenges in declaring final election results, were deemed legitimate and in line with constitutional and parliamentary intentions.
Emphasizing the transparency and fairness of the recount process, the Court dismissed the Appellants’ claim that GECOM overstepped its authority, stating that GECOM’s power to issue subsidiary legislation like Order 60 was within legal boundaries and did not encroach upon Parliament’s jurisdiction.
Additionally, the Court awarded costs of $150,000 to the four respondents who participated through submissions in the case. Notably, this ruling by the Court of Appeal stands as a pivotal decision, reaffirming the validity of the 2020 Guyana Elections, upholding GECOM’s actions, and settling the legal challenge brought forth by the APNU-AFC.
The Department of Public Information (DPI) reported that during an interview on Monday, the Attorney General said the Opposition continues to clutch at straws to support its baseless claims of being ‘robbed’ during the 2020 General and Regional Elections. He also commended the ruling.
According to AG Nandlall, the petitions filed by the APNU+AFC were an expression of attempting to ‘play wrong and strong,’ despite having lost fairly.
“They have lost the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections by thousands of votes. Recognising that, they started to hatch theories and allegations of irregularities that 15,000 dead people voted, that 40 ballot boxes documents were removed, and they triggered that entire fiasco that the world witnessed at Ashmin’s building. These petitions, in my view, should never have been filed in the first place, because they did not have a case,” he said.
He also reminded that the Opposition had agreed to hold the recount, but resorted to accusations of fraud and illegality when the recount did not produce the desired results. “That is undemocratic conduct. That is conduct that strikes at the heart of democracy and fair play,” the Attorney General added.
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