– but party still attempts to prevent declaration
Incumbent President David Granger
Former Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence
De facto President David Granger and Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, have cleared out their respective public offices in preparation for transition to the incoming government. This is according to credible information provided to this publication.
Despite this development, some within the ranks of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) are still pursuing efforts to prevent a declaration of the March 2, 2020 Elections.
According to reports, the President cleared out State House since Wednesday, while Lawrence, who serves as the Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), cleared out her office, and even had a farewell thrown in her honour, subsequently.Notwithstanding this, the Coalition has again attempted to block the declaration of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections results which show a clear win for the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP).Figures from the National Recount show that the PPP has won the March 2, Elections with a grand total of 233,336 votes against the APNU+AFC Coalition’s 217,920 votes. Those figures are sufficient to declare Dr. Irfaan Ali as Guyana’s 9th Executive President.
However, the Coalition members have maintained that no declaration can be made on the basis that the votes cast were “not valid” due to the high number of irregularities uncovered during the recount. This includes their allegations of dead and migrant voters, none of which was substantiated. Additionally, top brass members of the Coalition have continued to publicly denounce the figures of the recount.
The Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, was expected to submit his final report to the Commission yesterday pursuant to Article 177(2)(b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act Chapter 1:03. This did not happen.
That delay was due to the fact that the CEO and the GECOM Chair, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh, were served with a ‘Notice of Motion’, meant to prevent Lowenfield from submitting his final report.
The Coalition had also requested that the Chairman annul the March 2 Elections, but it was made pellucid that GECOM has no authority to execute such action. Such a matter would have to be ventilated at the level of the court in an election petition.
