Irfaan Ali, Opposition Leader call on supporters to remain calm

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said he hopes that the international observers along with the various diplomats have noted the fact that lawyer for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Neil Boston, SC, is being assisted by two candidates for the governing coalition.

He was referring to the fact that while Attorney Robin Hunte is named as Boston’s co-counsel for the matter relating to the injunctions secured by the PPP/C barring GECOM, its Chief Elections Officer and Returning Officer for Electoral District Four from declaring results, he had candidates Roysdale Forde and Darren Wade assisting him in court on Saturday.
The duo was seen briefing SC Boston on case laws, precedents and assisting him with documentation during the proceedings on Saturday at the High Court before acting Chief Justice Roxane George.

“The lawyer for GECOM was helped by two candidates for APNU – Darren Wade and Roysdale Forde. The APNU lawyers were helping the GECOM today and this is considered in partiality. That alone would give you the idea about the collusion of some officials of GECOM and the APNU camp to spring this fraudulent result on this country,” Jagdeo said in a video statement.
“From today’s argument, we hope that the will of the people will be addressed. That the Court would allow the process to be completed using the same process used in the other regions…We are hoping that the Court would allow that process that was started by the RO, stopped prematurely, restarted by the CEO when he gave that commitment,” he added.

Peace, due process
Additionally, Jagdeo appealed to the Party’s supporters to remain calm as they continue the battle to have the Region Four results declared within the ambit of what is stipulated in the Representation of the Peoples Act.
He told supporters to follow the various mediums of information while remaining calm and respectful of the law.
“We have to remain calm at this point in time. We have to stay in your communities. We have to remain vigilant and follow everything in the news and await further guidance from the Party. There should be no act of violence and we should not break the law. We have a strong support and ally in the international community. They were there when the blatant attempt at rigging the elections took place. As I said before they were appalled. They could not believe that this could have happened,” Jagdeo noted.
“All of the observers, along with the statements coming from individuals have been stressing one issue and that is they have to return to a credible process of verification of the results of the election and two that Granger must not be sworn in…Granger will not get away with this. He will not get away with stealing these elections. These elections have to be transparently determined, the verification has to continue, and a credible result announce based on the verification of the statements of poll,” he added.
The former President said that they have expressed concerns of the possibility of the Government developing fake Statements of Poll as was the case of the spreadsheet during the verification phase. However, the International community gave the Party all assurances that the SOPs are safely guarded and that they would be checking to ensure its integrity.

Peace and calm
Meanwhile, PPP/C Presidential Candidate echoed Jagdeo’s call for peace and calm as the process continues.
“I wish to urge you to remain calm and respectful for the established processes. As a law-abiding party, we have activated legal recourses to halt the attempted efforts by David Granger and some operatives of GECOM to manipulate the elections results for Region 4 and to illegally seize power. The statutory procedures were followed in nine regions to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, yet it was varied in Region 4. There is no other conclusion than an attempt to rig the elections is in play,” he said.
“We urge patience from the people of Guyana, our supporters to be calm, alert and await guidance from your party. Our democracy is in peril, but I have confidence that our judicial process will put it back on course with the statutory tabulation of the Region 4 SOPs. I believe this is not a time for divisiveness or rhetoric which can harm the fabric of our democracy. I urge restraint. The people of Guyana, particularly our supporters, are not alone in the defence of our electoral process. The international community and persons of all backgrounds at home are making their voices heard resoundingly in support of our collective desire for free and fair elections,” he added.
Several pro-democracy protests erupted on Friday leaving one dead and 10 injured. Three Police officers were also injured.