‘Shrill, fake positions part of strategy to undermine confidence GECOM’

– “The PPP does not have to rig this election to win it” – VP Jagdeo

Baseless narrative about key aspects of the electoral process, including voter registration and the ability of the Guyana Elections Commission to conduct free and fair elections, is part of a deliberate strategy by the opposition.

This was highlighted by Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo in light of continued shrill and fake positions taken by the parliamentary opposition.

Jagdeo elaborated further, noting that the calculated approach seeks to undermine public confidence in GECOM, and create an atmosphere of doubt about the electoral process leading up to the 2025 general and regional elections.

“They even go to the extent of criticising officers of GECOM in a very personal way, and without a shred of evidence. But, somehow in their minds, they believe if they create a deluge of falsehoods and noise….it will enhance their electoral fortunes,” he said.

According to him, this last-minute resort, signifies their awareness of their impending defeat at the upcoming elections, a pattern linking back to the period when the PNCR was consigned to the Opposition benches after the return of democracy in 1992.

The PNCR-led opposition has continually alleged election fraud, citing issues of voter impersonation, among other issues. However, they have consistently failed to provide a shred of evidence to back their accusations, as Jagdeo stated.

NO EVIDENCE

Only recently, the opposition accused the 2020 general and regional elections of being rigged, and even filed Election Petitions challenging the results. 

“Just imagine if you had all this evidence of voter’s impersonation and all of the things that allegedly went wrong in 2020. You should have been able to present this [evidence] to the public, the court and the country in an elections petition,” Jagdeo pointed out, adding that they should have presented it to the courts, including their Statement of Polls (SOPS).

He added, “…the election petition they filed, after the last election, was bareboned and it was also so frivolous that it was laughable to anyone who seriously followed these issues. So, if they had all this evidence, they would make it public,” he said.

Notably, the Court of Appeal, dismissed an appeal filed by the APNU+AFC against the High Court decision to dismiss Election Petition No. 88.  The Coalition, on June 3, 2020, filed an appeal in the case of Petition 88, arguing that the ruling judge erred in the decision that was handed down. Petition 88 argued that the Recount Order was illegal and unconstitutional and therefore the declaration of results based on the recount is illegal and unconstitutional. The petitioners, Ms. Claudette Throne and Mr. Heston Bostwick were asking the Court to declare the election results null and void. In further seeking to do so, the petitioners are challenging the national vote recount process, Section 22 of the Elections Laws Act and Order 60 of 2020, which governed the recount.

Further, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), on October 19, 2022, ruled that the Court of Appeal (CoA) in Guyana does not have the jurisdiction to hear and determine the appeal filed to challenge the dismissal of the APNU+AFC Coalition’s Election Petition 99 of 2020. Justices Jacob Wit, Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Denys Barrow, Winston Anderson and Peter Jamadar presided over the case at the CCJ, which is Guyana’s final court of appeal.

Petition No.99, which challenged the final election results, was nullified by the Acting Chief Justice on the grounds of non-compliance of service on the second named respondent, former President Mr. David Granger. Petition 99, argued that fraud was committed in the March 2020 Elections and over 115,000 votes were affected, benefiting the PPP/C.  Petition 99 of 2020 was filed on September 15, 2020, by APNU+AFC Coalition agents Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse.

TIMELY ELECTIONS

Speaking further on the issue, the general secretary noted inconsistencies in these criticisms, reminding that the same voter list used in the 2020 elections, were used during the 2015 elections when the APNU+AFC coalition won, “Yet no complaints were made.”

Jagdeo also commended GECOM for adhering to the constitution governing the election process in Guyana, despite facing pressure to act outside its legal mandate.

He emphasised that the government does not intend to rig the elections, as they have confidence in their support base, which has grown significantly.

“The PPP does not have to rig this election to win it. We won it when we were in Opposition, when they controlled the army and the government,” he said.

With the parliamentary opposition pushing for the use of biometrics, Jagdeo noted that this will necessitate the house-to-house registration, that may last for almost a year.

The general secretary underscored the government’s commitment to holding elections within its constitutional timeline, and the use of biometrics will only delay the process.

The last General and Regional Elections were held on March 2, 2020.  A government is in place for five years from the date when the National Assembly meets after any dissolution – meaning five years after Parliament first met on September 1, 2020 – as per section 70 (3) of the Constitution.   

The next General and Regional Elections, as per section 61 of the Constitution of Guyana, has to be called within three months after every dissolution of Parliament.