GECOM Chair should adopt Chief Election Officer’s final report

Dear Editor,

Guyana continues to endure the unprecedented General Election impasse and heightened tension as a consequence of hesitancy on the part of the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to adopt the Chief Election Officer’s (CEO) final report for the March 2, 2020 declared election results.

It is far from the best Easter weekend for the majority of Guyanese who have not just had their movement curtailed as a result of measures to prevent the current coronavirus spread, but also the apparent disregard for their voting rights to re-elect the incumbent government.

I am cautiously optimistic that GECOM will recognize the rights of the APNU+AFC voters, who although exercising prolonged patience and restraint, would like their rights to a choice of government honoured, respected and declared. It would be disastrous for GECOM not to do so, while allowing itself to be further distracted by those who have sought to undermine the integrity of that august body and our electoral processes. GECOM must comply with all legal provisions and its pellucid mandate under the Representation of the People Act.

The General Secretary of the main opposition PPP has repeatedly telegraphed threats against GECOM and its officials, and has even abetted some foreign missions into disregarding local procedures, laws and vested powers of that constitutionally appointed body, under the guise of a struggle for democracy. I have not included the appendage ‘civic’ when relating to the opposition since in my view it is mere optics.

Apart from the APNU+AFC, the PPP is the only other significant contestant of the March 2 General and Regional elections; elections that were duly won by the APNU+AFC coalition based on declared results. Therefore, it would be fallacious for the PPP to believe that the APNU+AFC and its supporters will accept and concede to any other result other than those declared.

Our laws are very clear regarding challenges to declared election results by aggrieved parties – Laws of Guyana, Cap. 1:03 Sec 61 (2)(b) b.
If those laws have changed, the GECOM Chair must show us what, how and when those passages were made. Failing which, the Commission ought not to take upon itself the power to vitiate an election and the officially declared results.

Yours faithfully,
Orette Cutting

Editor-in-Chief’s note: The declaration for District Four was rigged and there was no final certification of the result of the election by GECOM.