GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jul. 30, CMC – President David Granger on Thursday indicated he will accept the results of the March 2 election once they are declared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, on the sidelines of the opening of a new COVID-19 hospital in Georgetown, he pointed out that his acceptance of the declaration is not conditional on whether it goes in his favour or not.
Granger’s APNU+AFC Coalition has used the courts to try to get GECOM to declare results other than the recount figures which show the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has won.
“With respect, my statements on compliance with the declaration wasn’t conditional, I didn’t say if the rain is falling or the sun is shining, you know, if it comes by day or by night, I am obliged to observe the declaration of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission.”
The President in the past committed to accepting the national vote recount figures which show the PPP winning the elections by over 15,000 votes but agents of Granger have moved to the court to block GECOM from using the figures.
Earlier this month, Guyana’s highest court – the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled that votes already counted during the national recount of votes are valid and should form the basis of a declaration of a winner.
Local and international stakeholders have collectively called for the recount results to be used as the basis for a declaration.
On Thursday the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed an appeal against the ruling in a lower court and gave the appellants one day to decide on their next move as the challenges to the disputed March 2 regional and general elections seem now to be nearing an end.
Three-member panel in a a near three hour ruling, also agreed that most of the challenges raised during the appeal heard last Saturday were res judicata meaning that they were matters that had been adjudicated by a competent court and therefore may not be pursued further by the same parties.
