APNU-sponsored injunction to block recount has no merit – political parties

…support calls for recount
…concern about separate storage of ballot boxes

Joining the mounting calls for a national recount of all the ballots cast during the recent elections, eight political parties are contending that the injunction filed to stop the process has no merit.
The political parties calling for a recount are the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Change Guyana, The Citizenship Initiative, The New Movement, the United Republican Party, and the A New and United Guyana.
In a joint press statement issued on Thursday, the parties explained that there was an urgent need for a recount, arising from the unlawful and/or illegal actions highlighted by declarations from the Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.
In fact, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh had committed to having the recount done under a Caricom-supervised process initiated by President David Granger and agreed to by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
However, this process was halted before it even began, firstly with several unexplained delays such as a fumigation exercise and then finally with an injunction.
The injunction was filed by an A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) supporter and candidate, Ulita Moore.
The six political parties argue that the injunction has no merit.
They asserted that: “We feel strongly that the injunction is without merit as it seeks to undermine the clear statement made by the Chairperson of GECOM to have a recount of the votes, and the joint agreement signed by President David Granger and Opposition Leader, Mr Bharrat Jagdeo.”
As such, the parties have jointly or individually applied as respondents to the interim ex parte application granted by Justice Franklin Holder, which is set for hearing at 09:00h today.
The parties made it clear that they were working for a peaceful and legal resolution to this situation and that they remained committed to respecting the results emanating from the recount, once done transparently.
“We call on all Guyana to understand that the political parties outside of APNU/AFC are working for a peaceful and legal resolution to this situation and we remain committed to respecting the results emanating from the recount and for democratic norms to prevail,” the parties explained.
In underscoring the importance of a recount, the parties pointed out that other organisations, both regional and international, have supported this cause.
According to the parties, these organisations include Caricom; the Organisation of American States (OAS); European Union; Commonwealth Secretariat; Carter Center, and their representatives: such as Caricom Chairperson and Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and other Caribbean Prime Ministers; US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch; EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz Cantó; UK High Commissioner Greg Quinn, and Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee.
Meanwhile, the political parties expressed concern over the absence of ballot boxes from specific districts at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
“At the time of writing of this press release, the Container with Region 6 Ballots and the Container with the Region 4 East Coast Ballots are not stored at the [Centre] in Liliendaal, where all the other containers for the other regions and sub-regions are stored. We urgently request that this irregularity be corrected immediately,” the parties explained.
When contacted, GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward explained that some containers were being stored at the entity’s headquarters at High Street.
But the parties contended that it was of paramount importance that the security of the containers containing the ballots be preserved.
“This is best achieved by all containers being stored at a central location and to permit party scrutineers to be on site and guard against any tampering with the ballot boxes,” they expressed.
Moreover, the parties say they have taken note of the threats of sanctions from the international community in general and the ABCE countries in particular, which can include personal sanctions against all those who participated in the process to undermine democracy by acting outside the rule of law.
Additionally, the political parties said they “strongly support” the statement from the US Department of State which emphasised that the people of Guyana deserve a credible election and transfer of power that reflects the will of the people in accordance with the laws of Guyana. On another note, the parties called on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to act professionally to de-escalate ongoing tensions arising from the election process and to perform its duties in the best interest of all Guyanese.
General and Regional Elections were held on March 2, 2020 and to date, there has been no declaration of a winner. In fact, the electoral process has been marred by a number of irregularities, which some stakeholders argue are clear attempts at rigging.
Against this backdrop, the six political parties called on citizens of Guyana to remain “calm and peaceful” as these matters continue to engage the attention of the courts.
“We continue to work with the local and international community to ensure the recounting of the votes cast at Guyana’s General and Regional Elections held on March 2, 2020,” the parties said.