Is the Court of Appeal validating a fraud?

Dear Editor,
In the election petition – that’s what was intended – brought by Eslyn David against GECOM, the Guyana Court of Appeal has made a ruling that the court has jurisdiction on the matter and on this backdrop, they proceeded with the matter. Presentations were made by lawyers for the plaintiff as well as for the defendants. Now a decision was arrived at by the court on Monday which in essence is a nonsensical decision, because it never addressed the concerns placed before it, so we really do not have to pay much attention to that ruling.
Now, that being said it begs the question as to what jurisdiction did this court really have? There was no judgement granted as to the nullity of the election, neither was an invalidation of the election results, only a bland “stay” for three days before, what I guess, would be another convoluted written judgement.
So, let’s follow the sequence of events and see how we got here:
1. The Appellate Court did not invalidate the election, something the APNU/AFC longed for. There is no way the election could have been cancelled either, because this is not the forum for such cases, an election petition lies in the remit of the High Court and not the Court of Appeal.
2. The Appellate Court could not grant an injunction stopping the declaration and swearing-in of the legitimately elected President. So, what exactly did this court rule on? That is the burning question. What is crystal clear is that the two Judges who voted in favour of this mambo jumbo ruling are clearly of a political persuasion and in this regard made a political statement rather than a legal one. This is so disgraceful, when a court of law becomes the political football of losers.
3. So, we come to that part of the ruling which says that “where more votes are cast” as per Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution of Guyana should be interpreted to mean more “valid” votes are cast, that party ought to be declared the winner. Now, the GECOM held a recount exercise in which all the credible or another word “valid” votes were recounted and a winner has already been determined.
4. We are at stage 4 where a declaration has to be made on the “valid votes” or “credible votes” of the recount that were tabulated. Those stamped verified and certified votes read, 217,920 votes for the APNU/AFC and 233,434 for the PPP/C, which shows a clear winner in the PPP/C.
5. What the PNC-led coalition would have liked was a ruling directing GECOM, an autonomous body to validate the votes submitted by Harmon through his agent Lowenfield. But that invented result would have been met with immediate rejection because the APNU’s votes were never certified by the Commission.
This ruling is the direct revelation of a party that is in desperation mode. It is the most nebulous, superfluous and nonsensical decision I have ever seen in a long time. What we witnessed on Monday, June 22, 2020, was a political court held by two political party hacks, who want to force their jaundiced opinions into our electoral system. They are trying their utmost to use our courts as a medium to perpetrate that fraud. This is disgraceful, to say the least, something that should never be countenanced by the civilised world.
So, I close by asking the question, is the Guyana Court of Appeal validating a fraud? And the answer comes back, most definitely! When the hallowed halls of our courts can be so hijacked by criminal party elements, then it tells us where we are going as a people.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams