APNU+AFC’s election petition, with ‘same outrageous contentions’ is ‘destined to fail’ – Nandlall

The APNU+AFC Coalition filed its election petition on Monday in which it is asking the Supreme Court to set aside the March 2, 2020 election and put the People’s Progressive Party Government out of office by ordering fresh elections.

But according to Attorney General Anil Nandlall, no Court in Guyana will do this based on the petition that the Coalition has filed.

Nandlall says the petition continues to make unsubstantiated contentions linked to ghost voting and voter impersonation and as a consequence, it has no likelihood of success.

“It is the same ridiculous, outrageous, unsubstantiated contentions and accusations they made [during the recount] at the [Arthur Chung] Conference Centre… it has no likelihood of success and is destined to fail,” Nandlall said while appearing on “InSight” broadcast on the National Communications Network.

The APNU+AFC, which was unseated from Government in the March elections, had refused to concede five months after the polls and had mounted several legal challenges in both local and regional Courts.

The rulings pointed them back to the Constitution which mandates that the election can only be challenged and set aside by way of an election petition.

“It took five months of banging on their heads… before they understood that it is an election petition that they have to file…sadly it is simply a compendium of that ridiculous bundle of allegations at the conference centre,” Nandlall added.

The Attorney General said the Coalition must understand that a “large part of winning the court is at least persuading the court that you are sincere and have a just case, that your case is based on good faith and there is a genuine wrong that you have suffered.”

He said the APNU+AFC have failed to do so in its petition and have overlooked the fraud committed by the Returning Officer for District #4 Clairmont Mingo.

“You can’t approach the courts with unclean hands and withhold material information… you are enjoined to make a full and frank discussion of all the facts even those that are against you.”

Further, Nandlall has called the Coalition out on its decision to withhold his original copies of Statements of Poll from among the several documents it intends to produce to the Court to support its case.

Filing Attorney and APNU+AFC member Roysdale Forde had said on Monday that producing the Statements of Poll was not relevant to what the APNU+AFC was asking the court to determine.

“As we have said repeatedly, the elections were not decided on Statements of Poll; it was decided on the recount and if we are challenging the results of the elections it must be on the basis of the recount and those documents,” Forde told the News Room.

But Nandlall feels differently. He said the basis of any elections is the Statements of Poll and those documents will have to be presented to the Court.

“You are going to ask a Judge to set aside an election, put a Government out of office and you are not putting forward your results, you are not putting forward your case… the case lacks moral underpinning and foundation… all that which they have been avoiding and that which their agents are hiding at GECOM all will come out now in Court,” Nandlall noted.

He said he is happy that the matter is now in Court because he is almost certain that if the coalition doesn’t produce its SOPs willingly, then there will likely be an order for GECOM and Coalition to produce the SOPs.

“The dance will end right here now… so I am happy they have brought their petition. Volda can come and tell us under Oath and cross-examination how her signature is on a declaration made by Mingo and how that spreadsheet – where it came from that Mingo used as his basis for his declaration.”

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