The coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) is trying to undermine the ongoing national recount as part of a strategy to ensure that it does not have to accept the results of the recount, which have thus far proven the accuracy of the Statements of Poll (SoPs) that were in the possession of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
Former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall speaking to the media
This is according to former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall.
Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, Nandlall pointed to several incidents since the Wednesday start of the activity which have led to the conclusion that the APNU/AFC is attempting to derail the recount.
“You would have seen from yesterday (Wednesday), and the people of Guyana would have been able to assess that APNU/AFC along with their [GECOM Commissioners] have constructed a common narrative and that narrative is to identify and magnify flaws in the recount process,” Nandlall stated.
He went further to remind that it was the coalition that has been deeply opposed to a recount from inception, noting, “You know of their multiple attempts to delay and thwart the process. You know of their attempt in the court to prohibit the process from taking place. When all of that have failed, you see them now as we predicted in the recount process trying to find avenues and ways of derailing and undermining the integrity of the process.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), you would have heard from Mr [Vincent] Alexander identifying some 20, [David] Patterson identifying another 15 to 20 flaws. We identified flaws as well, but we are working assiduously as I explained yesterday to get GECOM to rectify and address those flaws successfully, but not them. They are doing everything to undermine the process and why would you want to undermine a process when you think you have won the election?” he stressed.
According to Nandlall, given that the APNU/AFC continues to express confidence in its victory at the March 2 polls, he “thought that they would have encouraged the process to conclude so that they can be confirmed as the winner”.
“Yet they are magnifying, they are talking about dead voters, they are talking about people who have migrated and all sorts of flaws that they are identifying in the election,” Nandlall argued.
He posited that if a party is confident of an electoral win, it would seek to protect the integrity of the election not denounce the integrity of it, as is being attempted. “So, these people are apparently undermining their own election that they claim that they have won. The point that I am making is that they are so incompetent that they cannot even get a proper narrative going to PR the position that they want to!” he added.
He also made reference to what he dubbed a foolish and idiotic story concocted by the APNU/AFC about the PPP having a secret meeting with the GECOM technical personnel in the tabulation centre. He pointed out that agents from other parties, including the Citizenship Initiative’s Rhonda Lam and others, have denounced these accusations that were made by David Patterson and Daniel Seeram of the APNU/AFC.
“…that is what they will continuously do, and I want to inform you and alert the population to that,” Nandlall declared.
GECOM Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward has also denounced these claims, saying that there was no secret meeting and the entire incident was blown out of proportion. The PRO had pointed out that the incident had occurred in a very public dome, which was accessible by anyone in the building, and what is being peddled as a “secret meeting” was in fact an occurrence where the GECOM personnel was setting up the room and the PPP agents sought to ask them some questions.
According to Nandlall, these narratives about the PPP are being brewed, “so that in the end they [APNU/AFC] will be able to amass enough of what they are deeming as irregularities and flaws so that they not have to accept the results of the process.” “The Statements of Polls that are in the possession of the PPP are being proven to be accurate now they can’t allow that to happen so they will continue to attempt to derail the process,” Nandlall warned.
