Fast-track court hearing on election petition – NACTA poll

Calls have intensified for the fast-tracking of the election petition in the High Court.
An ongoing opinion poll being conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) finds that a significant portion of Guyanese believe the court should have ruled expeditiously on the election matter in light of the many controversies surrounding the conduct of the election and the counting of ballots.
The survey finds that a majority of voters are dissatisfied with the Guyana Elections Commission’s (Gecom) conduct in the highly controversial May 2015 General and Regional Elections, where ballots were refused to be recounted, despite the worrying development of fake statements of polls (SOPs) finding their way into the entity’s machinery.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and supporters staged a number of protests to expedite the hearing of the Petition that was filed since June 2015 by party executive Ganga Persaud.
Persaud had stated that the elections petition ought to be given preference in a country stained by rigged elections and to not treat the matter with urgency indicates that something is amiss.
According to the poll, voters are particularly concerned about Gecom’s refusal to recount the votes, especially in a region where there was a one vote difference between the Ruling and Opposition parties, which could have determined which party would gain a one-seat majority in the parliament.
Additionally, the survey indicated that a majority of voters feel that there is bias in the High Court’s handling of the election petition.
“Voters feel the court should have ruled expeditiously on the election matter in light of the many controversies surrounding the conduct of the election and the counting of ballots. A majority of voters feel there was electoral fraud in the May 2015 Elections,” the analysis surmised.
In fact, asked if Gecom is doing a satisfactory job on electoral matters, 58 per cent said ‘no’, with only 35 per cent saying ‘yes’ and 7 per cent not offering a response.
Almost every PPP supporter felt that Gecom facilitated fraud in the May 2015 Election to remove the PPP/C from office.
The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) supporters disagree.
A majority of respondents felt that Gecom should have carried out a recount of ballots if it had nothing to hide or if some of its staff were not involved in skullduggery or if it felt its conduct of the elections was above reproach.
Asked if there is judicial bias in the High Court’s handling of the election petition, 44 per cent responded in the negative and 50 per cent in the affirmative with 6 per cent not offering a response.
However, a huge 69 per cent feel the court should rule expeditiously on the Petition to put to rest any doubts about the outcome. But many coalition supporters feel the Election Petition should be dismissed.
The NACTA poll is being conducted by political analyst, Dr Vishnu Bisram. The findings of the survey are based on interviews with 710 voters reflecting the demographic composition of the population and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 per cent.