GECOM, APNU/AFC bear ultimate responsibility for chaos in Guyana – Nandlall

In the wake of protesters outraged at what played out during the verification of the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) results and the simmering tensions, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall has laid the ultimate blame at the feet of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Nandlall expressed this view at the High Court on Saturday, on the sidelines of the hearing before Chief Justice Roxane George on the court’s jurisdiction to issue an injunction against GECOM. He was asked about the current state of the country.
“GECOM, the Chairperson Claudette Singh and CEO Keith Lowenfield, are responsible for the state that we are in. They are the reason tensions are so high in this country. The governing party are also responsible because they are obstructing the electoral process from being completed,” he said.
“The whole world knows; I don’t have to take a position. Not because I’m in the Opposition I’m taking this position. Objective people, right across the region, and across the world, have taken the position that the electoral process was aborted and must be resumed and completed.”

On the evening of March 5, Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield had committed to having the verification process run throughout the night until completion. However, this was never done, which was a clear violation of the law.
The injunction was sought and granted by former Attorney General Anil Nandlall after the Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo attempted to declare unverified results for district four from the General and Regional Elections.
Mingo, however, secretly declared the results – to the surprise of the main political Opposition, smaller political parties, several elections observer missions, and the wider international community.
Since then, there has been condemnation and warnings from local and the international community, urging the Government not to proceed with the swearing in of David Granger based on unverified and falsified results.
For its part, GECOM has been completely silent on the matter. The Chairperson has not made any public appearances or statements and Lowenfield has also been largely absent. He did resurface on Friday when party agents were called down to GECOM to open their locks on boxes containing blank SOPs, something they refused to do.
In the meantime, there has been unrest in several parts of Guyana. There have been protests in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, and several villages in Berbice, Region Six, on Friday evening. A heavily armed riot squad of the Guyana Police Force released teargas and later opened fire on a group of protesters.
Seven persons were shot while some were arrested, resulting in mass chaos. In Berbice, one of the protesters was killed by Police. Police have since claimed that he attacked a police officer, forcing them to shoot him.
Throughout the countrywide protests, another group gathered at Schoonord next to the Demerara Harbour Bridge, West Bank Demerara, with placards, voicing similar calls.