GECOM Chair writes political parties asking for “compromise”

Elections 2020

…fiasco could have been avoided if Chair exercised her responsibility – Jagdeo

Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh, has written to the Commissioners representing the two major political parties – People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and APNU/AFC – calling for “compromise” in agreeing on the next steps on the work of the electoral body.

Justice Singh made the overture on Tuesday, days after committing to not flouting the law and to await the decision by Chief Justice Roxane George, before taking a decision on the way forward regarding GECOM and the declaration of the results of the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The GECOM Chair in an official ‘note’ to stakeholders said while the entity is a constitutional agency, it is still subjected to the laws of Guyana, “hence the mandatory injunction granted against the Commission and the Chief Elections Officer” has affected the finalisation of the Commission’s work.
She observed nonetheless, that GECOM, cognisant of the urgency with which the Commission must complete its work, anticipates “that there will be a greater level of compromise by the six commissioners in agreeing on the next steps, following the decision of the Chief Justice”.

Avoiding fiasco
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, when asked to respond to the GECOM Chair’s letter, told Guyana Times, “I don’t have a clue what she is talking about. Had she exercised her responsibility in the first place, we could have avoided this fiasco”.
The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic on Thursday last managed to secure an injunction against the Returning Officer from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Clairmont Mingo, from making any declarations for the district without first verifying the tabulations.

The mandatory injunction also sought to restrain the Chief Elections Officer from giving a final declaration, among other reprieves.
Chief Justice Roxane George, in an emergency sitting of the High Court over the weekend, upheld the injunctions as absolute, until the determination of the hearing.
The Chief Justice, despite a petition by GECOM to not have the courts interfere in the process, ruled that it did have supervisory jurisdiction.
She had days earlier written to Jagdeo to inform him that the electoral body will not be taking any further steps with regards the announcement of the 2020 General and Regional Elections until the determination of the ongoing court hearing.
The position was communicated by way of a letter to the Opposition Leader following a correspondence by Jagdeo, outlining formally, concerns over the declarations of the Region Four electoral results.
Jagdeo, in a letter to the Chairperson on Saturday, noted that under the guidelines in Section 83 of the Representation of the People Act, the ballots had been counted and Statements of Poll (SOPs) generated, each of which was carbon copied to political parties.
He was adamant that based on those SOPs, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had won the elections by a margin of more than 15,000 votes.
Jagdeo in his missive called on the Chairperson to resume the verification process in accordance with the provisions of the law, voluntarily and without prejudice to the pending proceedings.
Justice Singh responded by saying, however, that the matter in light of the court proceedings is sub judice and that the Commission will have to await the outcome of the litigation before taking its next step.
She has now written to the representatives of the parties at the level of the Commission to inform them of the expected compromised position following a ruling by the Chief Justice.