PRESS RELEASE
General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo, this morning, met with representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS) Electoral Observer Mission, led by former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding.
During the meeting, held at the Party’s headquarters, Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown, the PPP General Secretary raised several issues of concern.
He pointed out concerns about orchestrated and coordinated attempts by some elements within the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), in complicity with APNU+AFC Coalition members, to perpetrate electoral fraud in Guyana and subvert the will of the Guyanese people.
The PPP General Secretary expressed concern too about the willful actions of the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, which flouted an injunction restraining him from actions that facilitate a declaration of final results in the 2020 General and Regional Elections. This contempt of an order of the Court, according to him, is a serious matter.
Further, the signature of the PNCR’s Volda Lawrence on the fraudulent declaration made by the Region 4 Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, was also addressed with the OAS team. The PPP General Secretary pointed out that the nine other declarations only bear the stamp and signature of the Returning Officers of those areas. As such, he questioned where this document was generated and how Lawrence’s name appeared on a crucial document. He added that this is akin to the APNU+AFC Coalition declaring the results for Region 4.
He pointed out that the verification process was running smoothly and over 400 Statements of Poll were verified, when a spreadsheet, with substantial variations in favour of the Coalition, was introduced into the process. After vociferous protests by all the political parties, the Chief Elections Officer, he added, proffered assurances to all the political parties – in the presence of the international observers and members of the diplomatic corps – that the verification process would recommence and continue to completion using the Statements of Poll. Thereafter, without any continuation of the verification activities, a fraudulent declaration was made by the Region 4 Returning Officer. The PPP General Secretary stressed the need for the verification of results in Region 4 to be completed, as the only way to ensure a credible declaration of final results.
The OAS representatives were informed that the position of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is that there can be no swearing-in of a president, without verification of the results in Region 4.
People’s Progressive Party
March 8, 2020