Granger tangles self in web of lies about reason for elections recount

…recommits to accepting GECOM’s declaration
…sides with Harmon to tell Caricom leaders to ‘butt out’

Caretaker President David Granger on Friday night appeared on radio show Straight Up Live, where he neglected to mention the real reasons behind the National Recount of the ballots cast at the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had, back in March, agreed to a National Recount of the votes following declarations from stakeholders, diplomats and elections observer missions from the Carter Center, Organisation of American States, CARICOM, the Commonwealth and the European Union that the election’s credibility was marred by fraudulent declarations in District Four (Demerara–Mahaica).
It was as a result of the internal and external pressure, coupled with threats of sanctions, that Granger, with the approval of Jagdeo, invited the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to dispatch a High-Level Team to scrutinise the recount process.

CARICOM initially sent a team, but its members had to leave after Granger’s candidate Ulita Moore had stymied the process through court action.
After the court ruled that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) can conduct a National Recount of the ballots, but must be in charge of the process, Caricom dispatched another team, which has been in Guyana since May 1.

Web of lies
Seemingly forgetting the real reason behind the recount, Granger told radio listeners that it was after the discovery of a series of anomalies that the recount took off.
“There is abundant evidence that certain persons or parties or elements tried to manipulate the outcome (of the elections) by deliberately committing certain actions in order to get an outcome in their favour, and this is why we had to have a recount. Because there are acts of persons who have died or migrated and there are votes recorded in their names. There are persons who were not properly identified who voted. There are cases in which persons in one District see their votes turning up in another District. There are cases of persons who voted without Certificates of Employment. There are cases in which votes from one Polling Station turned up in another. There are cases in which ballot boxes turned up without poll books. There are too many anomalies to be ignored; that is the reason for the recount. That is the reason why CARICOM is here. That is the reason why we have had to wait over 100 days to get a report,” Granger confidently stated.
However, those alleged anomalies only came to the fore during the recount process after Granger’s party had made the claims. Despite making those claims, to date, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) is yet to provide concrete evidence to support its claims that dead and migrated persons were actually issued with ballots.
The caretaker president conveniently made no mention of Clairmont Mingo – Returning Officer for the Demerara-Mahaica Electoral District. In fact, it was Mingo’s actions and subsequent fraudulent declarations that led to the National Elections Recount.
Mingo, according to the recount figures, fraudulently inflated the Coalition’s votes by 19,116 votes, while deducting 3,689 votes from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
Neither Granger nor his party has, to date, addressed Mingo’s glaring anomalies. Ironically, the APNU/AFC has been claiming victory, and has claimed victory based on Mingo’s concocted numbers. As a matter of fact, persons from that party have called for GECOM to use those numbers and declare a winner, since they said it matched their secretive Statements of Poll.

Butt out
Granger, during the talk show, effectively told all foreign Government leaders and officials to butt out from Guyana’s internal politics. He was at the time responding to questions relative to the recent comments made by incoming Caricom Chairman, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves.
PM Gonsalves had said the 20-member bloc of nations “will not stand by idly and watch the recount (of ballots cast in the March 2 Guyana General and Regional Elections) which is properly done, for the results to be set aside”.
According to Dr Gonsalves, “When you take part in an election, there’s always a chance you may lose; and if you lose”, he quipped, “take your licks like a man”.
In response, APNU/AFC General Secretary, Granger’s handler Joseph Harmon, lashed out at the Caricom Head of Government. But, supporting his CARICOM colleague, former Barbados Prime Minister and Leader of the Commonwealth Elections Observer Mission to Guyana, Owen Arthur, said Gonsalves was in perfectly good order.
The public repudiation has however unfazed the Guyanese caretaker President, who publicly supported Harmon.
“I wouldn’t advise one of my diplomats to comment on the internal affairs of another country. I don’t expect people outside of the country to comment on the internal affairs of the State of Guyana. The report or response given by Colonel Harmon is quite correct: that at this stage it is premature, even reckless, to comment on the outcome (of the recount process); and what Colonel Harmon said I stand by,” Granger said.
“I believe that the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines is aware. He was here in March as part of the five-member delegation led by Prime Minister Mottley; and I don’t want to say I am concerned, but I must say that I prefer no foreign head, government, or no foreign official comment on Guyana’s internal politics,” he added.

Abiding by the law
Granger’s signature phrase is “I am abiding by the Constitution.” However, his actions are quite contrary.
Reiterating several times that he has been acting in accordance with the Constitution, Granger outlined that since the passage of the December 21, 2018 Motion of No-Confidence, he has been doing exactly what the law stipulates.
However, Article 106 (6) of Guyana’s Constitution calls for the resignation of all Cabinet members and elections to be held within three months, but neither was adhered to by Granger and his Government. Instead, they moved to the court through a proxy and sought to challenge the vote on the ground of illegality. However, after months of legal battle, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) threw out their arguments that 34+32=65 and ordered that an election be help in Guyana.
Another instance of Granger’s Constitutional disobedience was when he unilaterally appointed retired Justice James Patterson to Chair GECOM. That appointment was challenged, and CCJ ruled that he acted “in contravention of the law.”
Granger, through his supporters, has been calling for GECOM to nullify the elections or announce the APNU/AFC as the winner; ignoring the results of the recount. However, on Friday he made a commitment to respect GECOM’s declaration and abide by it.