Do not waste more of court’s time – TCI

The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) has urged A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) to stop wasting the court’s time, pointing out that Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George’s ruling in Misenga Jones v GECOM et al was clear and easy to understand.

Following the ruling, TCI which is led by Presidential Candidate Rhonda Lam lauded the Chief Justice for her erudite ruling on the case, which sought to compel the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to use fraudulent declarations to declare a winner.
“Chief Justice Roxane George continues to execute her judgments with careful detail to jurisprudence and application of the law. Her understanding of the issues and the context against which Guyana continues to be placed in is exceptional.”

“Her professionalism inspires faith in the judicial system and is a good example for others to emulate for sound and clear guidance on matters arising for judicial review. Thank you, Madam Chief Justice,” TCI also said.
Even though Justice George emphasised during her ruling the importance of lawyers not rehashing old cases repeatedly, Jones’ lawyer, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, has indicated an intention to appeal the ruling. TCI was critical of this.

“TCI remains concerned that despite such a clear and concise ruling, there is yet to be another court matter. TCI, therefore, calls on all parties to abide by the rulings and not waste any more of the court’s time,” the party, which contested the March 2 elections, said.
Following the 33-day National Recount, it was demonstrated that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) won the elections with 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC coalition garnered 217,920, a gap of 15,416 votes. GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh wrote to her Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, on June 16, instructing him to prepare a final report based on the recount.

Instead, Lowenfield had submitted a report invalidating over 115,000 votes based on unsubstantiated allegations of dead and migrant voters, made by the APNU/AFC. Lowenfield’s actions caused an immediate uproar and the varying sides found themselves in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for the Irfaan Ali et al v Eslyn David et al case.
Among other decisions, the CCJ ruled in a unanimous decision that Lowenfield’s report which arbitrarily disenfranchised voters was invalid and that the concerns raised by the APNU/AFC coalition must be addressed in an elections petition.

The GECOM Chair wrote Lowenfield again, instructing him to submit his report so that the President could be declared. However, Lowenfield then engaged in a back and forth with the Chair in which sections of the CCJ judgement were twisted and misconstrued to give the impression that the ruling invalidated the recount order.
He then submitted a fraudulent report to Justice Singh, in which he included the fraudulent declarations of embattled Returning Officer for Region Four Clairmont Mingo, which inaccurately shows that the PPP/C gained 80,920 votes while the APNU/AFC received 116,941 votes in Region Four. Just when Singh looked set to forge ahead with or without the CEO, APNU/AFC supporter Misenga Jones took GECOM to the High court.

Ruling
In her ruling on Monday, Chief Justice Roxane George threw out the Misenga Jones application, ruling that Recount Order 60 of 2020 is valid and must be used as the basis to declare the results of the 2020 General and Regional Elections. In fact, she referred to Jones’ application and the contentions of Attorney General Basil Williams as “hopelessly flawed.”

The Judge ruled that Jones and Williams misinterpreted what the CCJ ruled. In fact, Justice George said that if one is to read the ruling, the CCJ plainly endorsed, rather than invalidated, the recount.
The Chief Justice also made it clear that GECOM Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield is no lone ranger, and must take his direction from GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh. She also read the CCJ judgement itself, which supports Section 18 of the Election Law Amendment Act and the subservient role Lowenfield plays.
Following Justice George’s ruling, Forde had sought an undertaking from GECOM that it would not do anything until they filed their appeal. This undertaking was given, on the condition that the appeal is filed by today. But while APNU/AFC continues to delay the inevitable, the patience of the international community wears thin.

Sanctions
Last week, the United States had announced that they are slapping officials in Guyana who are undermining democracy, with visa restrictions. The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during a press conference. According to Pompeo, these visa restrictions can also be applied to the immediate family members of those persons.

Pompeo did not name the officials who were targeted. Indeed, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Ann-Lynch has said that for privacy reasons, the names will not be disclosed. However, this publication has received reports that the list includes a prominent financier of the APNU/AFC Government, as well as several APNU/AFC Ministers, election officials and even judicial officers.