GECOM Chairman turns down PPP vote verification requests because issue before court

Last Updated on Sunday, 8 March 2020, 20:07 by Writer

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh has refused requests by the People’s Progressive Party for a restart of the verification of votes cast in Region Four before they are declared.

Justice Singh has also refused the PPP’s request for a final count of the Region Four votes to begin immediately, all without prejudice to the court case.

But, Justice Singh says since the issues are under judicial consideration and therefore prohibited from public discussion elsewhere, she will await the Court’s decision to determine the Commission’s next step.

The PPP, through its General Secretary and Representative of the List, Bharrat Jagdeo in a letter to the GECOM Chairman on Saturday, also asked that the Region Four Returning Officer refrain from declaring the results for that region.

Mr Jagdeo also asked that the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield and the Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo collectively preserve the original statements of poll for Region Four.

The PPP General Secretary also, in his letter to the GECOM Chairman, demanded that the Chief Elections Officer does not make any public declaration of results of the March 2, 2020 general election or deliver any results to the election commission.

In his letter, the PPP leader said his party got 152,121 votes and APNU+AFC 100,682 votes – a lead of more than 51,000 in the verified and declared results for the other nine districts.