Local Courts have duty to uphold CCJ ruling – Jagdeo

Illegal House-to-House Registration

…Opposition applies for injunction to halt process today
…confident of order being granted

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is confident of successfully securing an injunction to bar Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, from pursuing House-to-House Registration, which commenced on Saturday.

“I am reasonably confident,” Jagdeo said on Sunday when asked about the likelihood of securing an injunction against Lowenfield.
He went on to explain that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), through its lawyer, had told the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) that the earliest date early elections could be held if they conduct fresh registration is after December 25, which is when the new Official List of Electors (OLE) is expected to be ready.
The Trinidad-based regional court on July 12 had ordered that elections be held in accordance with Article 106 of the Constitution, that is, within three months. That three-month period commenced on June 18, 2019 after the Court ruled that the No-Confidence Motion was validly passed on December 21, 2018.
According to the Opposition Leader, that order was binding on GECOM, which was a party to the proceedings.
“Mr Lowenfield‘s pursuit of House-to-House Registration, using an order secretly gazetted and dated June 11, which was overtaken by the ruling of the CCJ, and against the advice of GECOM’s legal officer is contemptuous of the CCJ’s order,” Jagdeo said.
The Opposition Leader pointed out that the CEO has taken it upon himself to make this decision all on his own and in the absence of a functioning Elections Commission.
“He has done so without the involvement of the Opposition, which is a major stakeholder. This activity is being done, unverified by the scrutineers from the Opposition. Can we allow the action of a single individual, by ignoring the order of the country’s highest court and the Constitution, to put at risk peace and stability in Guyana? The local courts have a duty to uphold the ruling of the CCJ. And everyone, including the international community and excepting a few in Government, is clear what those orders are. That’s why I am optimistic,” Jagdeo contended.
In a video message on Saturday, the Opposition Leader first indicated his intention to approach the courts today to stop the conduct of fresh registration, which would delay the hosting of constitutionally mandated early elections.
He explained that the exercise was being carried out based on an order made by the unilaterally-appointed former GECOM Chairman, retired Justice James Patterson, shortly before he demitted office. Patterson had to step down after the CCJ found that the President breached the Constitution by unilaterally appointing him as Chairman of the elections body.
Further, Jagdeo indicated that given the circumstances under which House-to-House Registration is being conducted, his Party and supporters would not cooperate with the exercise.
“This activity has started and people are worried about it. And they want to know if they should register or not. Well, we in the PPP have decided that over the weekend we will not be complying with this activity, since on Monday (today), we will go to the courts to seek an injunction against this illegal activity, which is done in contravention of the CCJ. So, we will not be cooperating. We will try to stop the activity; we’ve briefed the international organisations. Many have expressed concern over this approach GECOM has embarked on … so, we will stop it through international pressure and through the courts, which have an obligation to uphold the CCJ orders,” he had stated.

House-to-House
The House-to-House exercise, which was last conducted in 2008, will see enumerators in teams of two to three, going from door to door in various communities across Guyana. The enumerators will present forms to registrants to complete, as well as take fingerprints and pictures.
In an advertisement by GECOM, it is stated that these enumerators work from 15:30h to 18:30 h during the week and from 09:00h to 16:00h on weekends and holidays. The exercise is intended to produce a new National Register of Registrants database and Official List of Electors.

This means that everyone, regardless of whether they were registered before or not, must register anew at their place of residence between July 20 and October of this year.

Disenfranchised
The requirement for proof of residency has alarmed overseas-based Guyanese to the point where a court case was filed by an overseas-based Guyanese against House-to-House Registration, on the basis that it would disenfranchise her.
In her court filings, Bibi Zeenatoun, a retired teacher and citizen of Guyana, had sought writs of prohibition and injunction and a conservatory order against GECOM.
Her fixed date application explained that she worked in the United Kingdom from 1980 until her retirement in 2014. She then acquired property and maintained a residence in that country. Besides her citizenship, however, she has family ties to Guyana that include an adult son and his two children.
According to the application, Zeenatoun “fears that she will be excluded from the proposed exercise of House-to-House Registration and thereby, in effect, be de-registered and in consequence thereof, and she will be unlawfully denied her statutory and constitutional right to be registered and to vote”.
“The applicant’s right to vote will and can be protected if the respondents were to engage in Continuous Registration as provided for in Section 6 (1) of the National Registration Act, Cap 19:08,” the application advised.

Order
There has also been much debate on whether the exercise can go forward since the former Chairman who signed the order, Retired Justice Patterson was found by the CCJ to have been unconstitutionally appointed.
Additionally, GECOM has said that House-to-House Registration will take 90 days, further delaying elections that should have been held since March 21.