Elections case filed in High Court riddled with inaccuracies

The case filed Tuesday in the High Court seeking to force the country’s elections body to declare results based on figures widely condemned as being fraudulent is riddled with inaccuracies, even falsely representing last Wednesday’s ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

The applicant took part in the national vote recount she is challenging and wants the Court to throw out. In fact, during the recount, she was one of APNU’s agents who escorted the ballot boxes from the containers to the area where the ballots were being counted.

The applicant Misenga Jones, through her attorney Mayo Roberston, claimed that last Wednesday, the CCJ declared that the Order No. 60 which triggered a national recount of votes cast in the March 02 elections, could not create a new election regime and that any extra steps included in that Order to ascertain the validity of votes are unconstitutional.

But that is, in fact, the opposite of what the Court ruled; the Court validated the use of the figures from the recount as the only basis from which a declaration can be made.

“Unless and until an election court decides otherwise, the votes already counted by the recount process as valid votes are incapable of being declared invalid by any person or authority,” Justice Adrian Saunders, President of the Court, said in a ruling.

The Court then said what should happen when it stated: “It is for GECOM to ensure the CEO submits a report in accordance with its direction of June 16 in order to proceed along the path directed by the laws of Guyana.”

At this time, the only lawful path is for the CEO to comply with the direction he was given to prepare a report based on the results of the recount.

From that report, the chair of the Commission can then declare Dr Irfaan Ali of the PPP as being the elected President and arrangements can be made for him to be sworn in.

The applicant wants the ten declarations made in the ten electoral districts prior to March 13 to be used to make a declaration.

But the District Four declaration has been condemned as being fraudulent. It has been proven in the recount that the numbers for the Coalition APNU+AFC were bumped up significantly to cheat and hand the Coalition a victory.

The applicant falsely claims that “at no time were the returns by the Returning Officers of the ten (10) districts set aside or invalidated by any court or competent authority.”

However, the competent authority to handle elections is GECOM, and the chairperson, Justice Claudette Singh, one day ago set aside all declarations made before the national vote recount started.

It means the only valid figures on the record are those from the recount.