“I will abide” by GECOM Chair’s declaration – Granger

Caretaker President David Granger on Thursday said he is obliged to observe the declaration made by the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

He shared this position on the sidelines of an event as he responded to questions from the media about GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, declaring the elections based on the Recount results.
Without evidence, his party is claiming that the Recount results are not credible. This is despite the fact that the Recount was supervised by Caricom and international observers, and has been accepted by the diplomatic community and the nine other parties which contested the polls.
“With respect, my statement on compliance with the declaration is not conditional. I didn’t say if the rain is falling or the sun is shining, you know; if it comes by day or by night. I am obliged to observe the declaration of the Chairman of the Elections Commission…I will abide by the declaration …I will abide by the rulings of the court,” Granger told reporters.
While the APNU leader noted that he is obliged to accept the elections’ declaration, Granger’s coalition party has been mounting court challenges in a bid to block GECOM from making the declaration. Thus far, four have been filed – the last of which was dismissed by Guyana’s Appellate Court on Thursday.
His rationale behind this was, “People can rightfully challenge a ruling if they disagree with it.”

Flip-flopped

Granger had previously committed to accepting whatever results emanated from the National Recount exercise, but later flip-flopped on his promise. Instead, his party wants a declaration based on the original tabulation of votes, including the fraudulent figures produced by Clairmont Mingo, the Returning Officer of the largest electoral district, Region Four.
Mingo’s figures were heavily inflated in favour of the APNU/AFC coalition, as observed by members of the international community.
In fact, it was Mingo’s production of concocted numbers that led to the undertaking of the National Recount exercise – which was agreed upon by caretaker President Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo. It was also conducted under the auspices of the Caribbean Community – which Granger had described as the most important interlocutor in the process.
Caricom, in its report on the Recount, deemed the results emanating from the process credible, and asserted that it should be the basis of the declaration of the winner of the March 2 polls.
Guyana’s highest court, the Caribbean Court of Justice, has also ruled that the Recount results must be used to declare the winner of the elections. The CCJ’s written judgment states: “Unless and until an election court decides otherwise, the votes already counted by the Recount process as valid votes are incapable of being declared invalid by any person or authority”.

No state of emergency
After the Recount exercise had concluded last month, Granger had hinted at the possibility of declaring a State of Emergency to allow him to govern, notwithstanding the election results from the just-concluded Recount.
However, when questioned about doing such now, he responded, “I have not contemplated, at this point in time, a necessity for a State of Emergency…I have insisted that once the Chairman of the Elections Commission makes a declaration, I will comply with that declaration…I have insisted on credibility from the start, and that is nothing new; but I don’t see what that has to do with a State of Emergency.”
Last month, the main Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) asserted in this regard, “President David Granger continues with his delusional outbursts…Granger speculated about calling a State of Emergency. The Constitution confers no power on any President to invoke a State of Emergency after a General Elections and without a declaration of the results.”
The Recount numbers show that the PPP/C won the March 2 poll with 233,336 votes cast in its favour. The APNU/AFC secured 217,920 votes. For the new parties, the numbers are as follows: A New and United Guyana – 2313; Change Guyana – 1953; Liberty and Justice Party – 2657; People’s Republic Party – 889; The Citizen’s Initiative – 680; The New Movement – 244; and the United Republican Party – 360.