Rochelle clutching at straws, hoping for even a small victory, ok mann.

Totaram

<style="color:#000066;">Well these legal rulings are complicated and the average person doesn't always understand them. And when I don't understand them I ask people who do to explain. But you see the problem with political matters is that they are rarely if ever solved by legal proceedings . In any case the current matter on which the CJ ruled is a political matter and courts don't like to get involved.

 

Anyway I have another source of wisdom to whom I take these kids of matters. Some people like to ask :What would Jesus do? etc. etc. Well the wise one who is my source of wisdom is my mother. She went to Lord Krishna a long time ago but I have imaginary conversations with her. So today I had a talk with her about the CJ's ruling. I mentioned to her the facts of the case and she said bai dem still a fight a Guyana. Anyway she explained de way she saw things. She said it is like if you go a Uncle Harry store an yo buy one drinks an cake and pay wid one dalla. Uncle Harry charge you 65 cents and throw you change pan de counter. You vex and pick up you change an go home and complain to you daady that the change wrang . My mother explained that you think the change wrang , Uncle Harry think it right . So you go to a pandit to help wid the matter. He hear the matter and say is uncle harry shap and he can tell yu wa you change is but e prapa rude. You must go bak and tell e that he suppose to han you back you change in you han. OK me go go back an wa happen if e han me 35 cents in me hand and me still think the change wrang. Well the pandit say that da would be a matter fo a swami. Me mumma na go a scool but she smaat mo than dem PPP people. Mr. Boston understands the ruling and was only feigning disappointment.

Rulings are seldom outside the comprehension of the plaintiff and defendant else they would not be elated or aggrieved by the outcome.

This is counting votes in an election - a proper count that is - it is not a political matter but a matter of grave importance - conservation of the sovereignty of the individual. It is the basis on which individuals electors transfer rights to an agency to act on their behalf and fundamental to democracy.

I am quite sure your mom did not explain it that way. Any ot her way would be puzzling and one would wonder if she was given to drink or you were hence this confused retelling.

Comment by Albio Sires, US Representative for New Jersey's 8th Congressional Dirstrict.

Wow. Good news.

@Former Member It is not the counting of the votes that is in question.  It is the tabulation of the SOPs and how that is done and reported. My understanding is that the CJ mentioned that that is the prerogative of the RO/Deputy.  The RO for Region 4 made a declaration days ago.  Should one expect he would make a different declaration tomorrow or Friday.  Oh, the Swami in my story is a judge in an election petition.

High Court scraps Region Four votes declaration, orders GECOM to conduct recount

Posted by: Denis Chabrol in Elections, Legal, News, Politics March 11, 2020 1 Comment

Region/District Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo (left) and Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield at the High Court on Wednesday, March 11, 2020.

Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire on Wednesday ordered the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to restart or continue the verification of the results for Region Four from Thursday at 11 am.

She issued that and several other orders because she found that GECOM’s Returning Officer for Region Four had caused “substantial non-compliance” with the Representation of the People Act concerning the addition of all of the Statements of Poll for District Four and whether that process was conducted in the presence of persons entitled to have been present.”

Based on court papers filed in this case, of the 879 polling stations, 421 were verified, leaving a 458 to be tabulated.

She also said it would be the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer to determine whether to restart or continue the process and “it will also be their decision to decide on what is the best method for tabulating the Statements of Poll so I want to emphasise that everybody who thinks they can have an input or a say, it is not their statutory duty.”

GECOM’s Attorney-at-Law, Neil Boston said the elections management agency would not be appealing her decision and that it was ready to commence the process.

Following are the substantive orders:

• The declaration made on the 5th March, 2020 by the Returning Officer for District Four of the total votes cast for District Four was unlawful and in breach of Section 84(1) of the Representation of the People Act Chapter 103 and is now void and of no effect
• The declaration made on the 5th March, 2020 by the Returning Officer for District Four of the votes for District Four is hereby vacated and set aside
• Any act done pursuant to the said declaration is hereby deemed null and void and of no effect
• Subject to my admonition as regards the role of persons entitled to be present and attend, the Returning Officer and/or the Deputy Returning Officer must comply with Section 84(1) in ascertaining the total votes cast in favour of each list and the public declaration of votes so recorded for each list of candidates
• The Guyana Elections Commission cannot lawfully declare the results of March 2nd, 2020 general elections until the Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer for District Four complies with and/or ensures compliance with the provisions of Section 84(1) of Chapter 103. Therefore, the injunction is granted restraining the Returning Officer of District Four from any manner whatsoever from declaring the votes recorded for each list of candidates for District Four before complying with or ensuring the compliance with the process set out in Section 84 of Chapter 103. That injunction is now made final
• Injunction granted restraining GECOM from declaring the total number of valid votes cast for each political party until the Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer for District Four complies with or ensures compliance with Section 84 of Chapter 103 is also hereby made final
• The mandatory injunction that refers to the compliance with the letter and spirit of Section 84 is hereby discharged.

The urgency of the situation resulted in the following consequential orders:

• The Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer for District Four must commence compliance with Section 84 (1) of the Representation of the People Act Chapter 103 no later than 11 hours on Thursday, March 12, 2020
• That in the interest of transparency and taking into consideration, the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer for District Four is to decide whether the process of determining whether the total votes cast in favour of each list in the District by adding up the votes in favour of the list and in accordance with the Statements of Poll should be restarted or continued
• It is also ordered that this order is to be served to Counsel for the parties and is to deemed as service to the parties.

Chief Justice George-Wiltshire stressed that her decision does not decide the result of or the validity of the result for District Four regionally or nationally. “This decision is concerned with the conduct of the Returning Officer in compliance” with the Representation of the People Act.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Attorney-at-Law, Anil Nandlall failed in his effort to get the Chief Justice to include in her orders that provision should be made for party representatives to be accommodated at the tabulation process. “I do not understand how that can be reflected in the order,” she said.

Boston, for GECOM, said the electoral agency would comply with the law because “that will lead to the confusion that brought these proceedings.”

Rochelle

THE RETURNING OFFICER OF ALL POLLING STATIONS USES THE STATEMENT OF POLLS TO TABULATE THE RESULTS, THEN THE CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER PUT THAT INFORMATION ON A SPREADSHEET TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CHAIRMAN, FOR HER TO MAKE THE FINAL DECLARATION AS TO WHO IS THE WINNER, OK. I CAN'T EXPLAIN THIS MORE SIMPLE. In other words you have to put the jackass infront of the cart. 

Those officers are to follow a protocol to ensure the contest is fair. They do not do so willy-nilly. Elections are deemed fair when the process is transparent hence the necessity for so many rules.

It is a contest of merit for one party or another to control the lives of the state and its assets and beyond even the picking of a name from a hat, it is to be adjudicated transparent and fair. That is what is involved  here in the right ordering the cart and the horse.

It is not fair to hide any of the vote counting process where presiding officials can game the system at their discretion. Given the PNC historical penchant to cheat, they have to earn trust. 

Rochelle - not at all. Both parties won today.

 If you think Apnu/ GECOM also won, how come they have to pay cost of $500,000. to the PPP.   I thought you ah lier.

"She also said it would be the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer to determine whether to restart or continue the process and “"it will also be their decision to decide on what is the best method for tabulating the Statements of Poll so I want to emphasise that everybody who thinks they can have an input or a say, it is not their statutory duty.”"

This from Demerara Waves is a key part of the ruling.  

In is glaring that someone who profess to be an attorney did not grasp what the Chief Justice meant when she said that the law does not direct how votes are tabulated. The other one is arguing that the PPP are arguing about tabulation of votes rather than verification of votes. Strange hos all the fools seem to gravitate to the PNC. 

@Former Member And WT. are you arguing?  

@Former Member you should check your party's attorneys, including your beloved Anil. He is arguing that spreadsheets cannot be used in the SOPs tabulation. Apparently it is a point of contention that even your lauded attorney(s) wish to address. 

Yet, I didn't grasp what the CJ meant. LOL. 

This blatant attempt to steal an election has to be historic compared to other countries.  In this day and age, people are so evil and uncivilized.  And we wonder why Guyana gets no respect anywhere in the world.

Bibi, the PNC and its supporters are foolish enough to think they can get away with stealing an elections in bright daylight with everyone having a camera around. Well, look who they chose to litigate their case. 

On the bright side, they could have sent Basil instead of Boston.

Basil also have trouble articulating himself. He tried to threaten the CCJ judges that if they didn't side with the PNC, there would be lots of violence in Guyana. Boston tried to tell the Chief Justice that as long as you imagine it is, then it is. I guess he does also wish upon a star.