Canada welcomes CJ’s ruling, urges democratic process in tabulation of Reg. 4 votes

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Lilian Chatterjee has welcomed the ruling of the Chief Justice Roxane George requiring a return to the credible and transparent tabulation of ballots in Guyana’s largest voting district, Region 4.

A statement from Chatterjee Wednesday night noted that “this process is necessary before any declaration of electoral results is issued.

“The people of Guyana deserve free and fair elections. Canada urges all parties to resume the democratic process in Guyana in a peaceful manner and urges all citizens to refrain from violence.”

The Chief Justice on Wednesday afternoon ruled that the Returning Officer for the country’s largest electoral district, District Four, had breached the law in the adding up of Statements of Poll and should return to the process, whether to start afresh or to continue where they left off.

As such, she ruled that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) cannot declare the overall results until the Returning Officer complies with the law. As such, she set aside the declaration made last Thursday.

She ordered that the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer must return to the process by 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 12.

International governments, including the U.S., UK, Canada, and the EU, along with observers from the Commonwealth, the OAS, the EU and CARICOM, have all said that if the verification of the Region Four Statements of Poll are not completed, the elections results would not be credible.