PPP asks CCJ to strike down Appeal Court’s ruling

Following a ruling of the Guyana Court of Appeal yesterday which would allow the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to calculate the results of the elections based on “valid votes”, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has sought appeal in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) asking it to strike down the ruling in its entirety.

Due to this application, a meeting of the Elections Commission, scheduled for 11:00 am this morning, has been cancelled.
While the matter in the Appeal Court was filed under Article 177 (4) of the Constitution, which gives the Court exclusive jurisdiction to rule on the validity of an election where the qualification of a person to become president or the interpretation of the Constitution is concerned, the PPP/C has argued that that Article of the Constitution is restrictive and does not allow the Court of Appeal the authority to rule in the way it did.

The application asks the Caribbean Court, in the interim, to grant an order restraining Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield from issuing his report on the elections, pursuant to Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, or any other report based on the Court of Appeal’s ruling yesterday.

It also asks for an order restraining GECOM from taking any steps to determine “a final credible count” of the recounted elections results, or from enquiring into the validity or credibility of the votes cast, and an order restraining GECOM from usurping the exclusive authority of the High Court, as granted by Article 163 of the Constitution, to determine the lawful conduct of the elections.