GECOM must work to regain trust – Int’l Center for Democracy

…joins call for televised recount; exclusion of tainted staff

The International Center for Democracy (ICD) has become the latest to call for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to take unprecedented steps to ensure that the recount it is expected to do is transparent and credible, including televising it and excluding certain personalities.

According to the ICD in a statement on Tuesday, GECOM by its conveniently timed actions, and lack thereof, has eroded the trust placed in it by the population. They made it clear that nothing but GECOM going the extra mile to restore that trust will suffice.
“It has been almost six weeks after the March 2, 2020 Elections – Guyanese are still in limbo not knowing the results and whether or not their constitutional voting rights have been executed in a free, fair and transparent manner to choose their next President and Government,” they pointed out.
“The tabulation process in the declaration of Region Four has been openly condemned by the ICD, ABCE countries, Caricom, international and local observer groups/organisations as not being free, fair and transparent. There have been several judicial interventions for the courts to determine and provide guidance regarding the recounting of the ballots.”
The New York-based organisation also pointed out that the courts have thus far ruled that GECOM has the constitutional rights and power to act as an independent body to move forward the process. And with the Court of Appeal ruling on Sunday, there is no question that GECOM can do a national recount of all the ballots and make a final declaration.

“GECOM has made the decision to proceed in doing a recount of the ballots. Despite the Judiciary interventions and GECOM taking the next step to move the process forward, the issue of trust in GECOM is still a lingering concern,” ICD said.
“Individuals within GECOM that were an integral part of the tabulation process knowingly and deliberately made decisions that were biased and not transparent that compromised the validity of the election results – those individuals should be excluded from the recount process.”
They pointed out that in order for GECOM to regain the trust of the people, the various contesting political parties, the ABCE countries, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and international and local observer groups, the body must be willing to do a recount that is trustworthy, free and fair. In this regard, they urged the Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, to step up.
“There is a lingering perception that the Chairwoman of GECOM did not perform her duties that were free, fair and without bias. The ICD demands that the Chairwoman for GECOM, take charge of the recount process and do not allow any of the political parties and staff within GECOM to influence her decision – the ICD will be paying close attention to this.”
The ICD also demanded that GECOM start the recount process as soon as possible without any further delay. “The recount process should be free, fair and transparent and for it to be it must be done in the presence of representatives from all competing political parties, Caricom, international and local observer groups.”
It was noted by the ICD that should GECOM televise the recount and tabulation process for the general public to view, this would help in rebuilding confidence in the process, the outcome and GECOM itself. Persons have posited that televising the process may serve as a deterrent for those seeking to derail the process.
“Democracy in Guyana must be restored and the people of Guyana must have a President and Government that is democratically elected in a free, fair and transparent manner,” the organisation said.
It has been over a month of controversies and a credible winner for the 2020 General and Regional Elections is yet to be declared. After two declarations from Region Four’s (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, which lacked transparency, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and caretaker President David Granger had agreed to have Caricom oversee the recount in a deal brokered by Caricom Chair, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
That agreement was derailed when A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) candidate, Ulita Moore, moved to the courts and secured an injunction against the exercise. That injunction was discharged by the Full Court and on Sunday, the Full Court’s decision was upheld by the Appeals Court.
However, Appeal Court Judges Rishi Persaud, Dawn Gregory and Brassington Reynolds ruled that Caricom’s supervision of GECOM’s recount would be unlawful. Their grounds for this reasoning was that GECOM would be ceding its responsibilities.
Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, one of the lawyers for Jagdeo, and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, have both called this a misinterpretation of the agreement. In the meantime, GECOM has taken a decision to recall Caricom to supervise the recount.
There is still no word on whether Mingo (who made an unlawful declaration and was slapped with contempt of court papers) and Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers (who has been accused of impeding party agents observing the process), will be excluded. However, there have been multiple calls for them to be excluded.