Full Court In Guyana To Give Ruling Tomorrow, As Yet Another Delay In Publishing Election Results

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, March 30, 2020 (CMC) – The Full High Court, today, “stayed” the proceedings in the ongoing matter, in which High Court Judge, Justice Franklin Holder, is hearing an injunction, preventing the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from declaring the results of the March 2 regional and general election.

The Full Court, consisting of the acting Chief Justice, Roxanne George-Wiltshire and Justice Naresh Harnanan, is expected to give a ruling, tomorrow, after hearing an appeal against Justice Holder’s decision to hear the matter.

Last Friday, Justice Holder ruled that the Court has jurisdiction to hear the matter, throwing out arguments, by attorneys for the leader of the main opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, who argued that the Court did not have jurisdiction.

Justice Holder had also dismissed a request, for GECOM to provide all of the statements of poll to the Court, adding that the matter of discovery is best suited for an election petition.

As a result of his ruling, the High Court was due to begin hearing, today, arguments in the substantive case that was filed by Ulitta Moore – a candidate with the ruling coalition, A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance For Change (APNU+ AFC) — who is seeking the Court’s intervention to block a recount of all votes, as part of an agreement reached by President David Granger and the Opposition Leader.

While the case was filed by the APNU+AFC candidate in her private capacity, the PPP/C and a number of other parties had joined the proceedings as interested parties.

Attorneys for Jagdeo and three political parties, which contested the March 2 elections, argue that the law is clear that the Court cannot inquire into the deliberations of the Commission.

Attorney, Anil Nandlall, told reporters that all parties will now have to wait to see, whether the Full Court “accepts our appeal and takes the matter away from Holder, because that is what the essence of the appeal is”.

He insists that Justice Holder and the High Court cannot hear the vote recount matter, because the High Court does not have jurisdiction to enter an inquiry into a decision of GECOM.

The recount was based on a request made by President David Granger to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and agreed to by Jagdeo.

But Moore’s application cited the unconstitutionality of such action, and the CARICOM independent delegation that was supposed to have overseen the recount, has since left Guyana.

GECOM has already indicated that it is awaiting the outcome of several legal matters at the High Court, before it takes any “further actions”, regarding the release of the results of the election.