Home Letters Election petition is a tool to challenge declaration in court
Dear Editor,
As a politically-neutral observer of Guyanese and Swiss descent residing abroad, I have, in the past, raised concerns that the number of votes cast in the 2020 General Elections appear to be too high (see Guyana Chronicle of July 11, 2020).
In short, with an estimated 477,910 eligible voters living in Guyana and 460,295 votes cast in the 2020 General Elections, the voter turnout would be 96.3%. This is rather unrealistic for many reasons, and is uncommon in liberal democracies. To date, I still have not seen any credible and convincing evidence to disprove my analysis.
However, given the recent court decisions, I believe the time has come for GECOM to declare the results on the basis of the Recount votes. It is in the national interest to move on. As I understand it, Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield is not willing to do so, as he has serious issues with the validity of a significant portion of the votes cast. He is entitled to his views, but the Guyana High Court does not support them. Hence, my advice to Mr. Lowenfield is to step down in order to clear the way for GECOM to declare the results of the Recount.
Importantly, however, I encourage Mr. Lowenfield, the APNU+AFC, or any other party with evidence of election fraud to challenge the declaration by filing an election petition in accordance with the provisions of Article 163 of the Constitution of Guyana.
This will be the proper and constitutional venue to present evidence in support of the notion of too many votes cast, or any other election irregularities concerning the 2020 General Elections. Foreign governments and international organisations would hardly be able to label such actions as illegal.
Sincerely,
Andre Brandli