EDITORIAL Much anticipated report from Elections CoI

TheCommission of Inquiry (CoI) into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections ended on February 10, 2023 and concluding comments by Trinidadian Senior Counsel, Sophia Chote, reflected long-asked questions.

Chote, who led the evidence during the Commission of Inquiry, noted that, as per the evidenced provided, both the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and the PNCR-led Coalition would have known the results of the March 2020 Elections. Chote said: “I don’t think it is unreasonable for this commission to infer that after the close of polls on the second perhaps by the next day, the two juggernauts would have had the totals.” Notably, the Trinidadian Senior Counsel observed that this fact could offer an explanation as to why the five-moth debacle over the declaration of the election results ensued.

Based on the national recount, which ended on June 9, 2020, there were a total of 460,352 valid votes.

The national recount results, at the General Elections, based on the Certificates of Recount for all 10 Regions, show that:

• The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won the March 2 General Election with 233,336 votes.

• The APNU+AFC Coalition secured 217,920 votes.

• A New and United Guyana secured 2.313 votes

• Change Guyana secured 1,953 votes;

• The Liberty and Justice Party secured 2,657;

• The People’s Republic Party secured 889 votes;

• The Citizen’s Initiative secured 680 votes;

• The New Movement secured 244 votes; and

• The United Republican Party secured 360 votes.

The national recount results, at the Regional Elections, based on the Certificates of Recount for all 10 Regions, show that:

• The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won the March 2 Regional Election with 233,661 votes.

• The APNU+AFC Coalition secured 217,055 votes.

• Change Guyana secured 2,607 votes;

• The Liberty and Justice Party secured 2,935;

• The People’s Republic Party secured 927 votes;

• The United Republican Party secured 1,369 votes;

• The FUP secured 153 votes; and

• The OVP secured 448 votes.

These results, but for minor adjustments, reflected the results contained in the original Statements of Poll and conclusively established the extent to which the figures for Region 4 were altered to give the APNU+AFC Coalition an overall majority.

In fact, the national recount proved that the embattled former Region 4 Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, manipulated thousands of votes in Region 4 to give the PNCRled Coalition an advantage – results that the former Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, attempted to foist on the Guyanese people.

Elections are held to determine the will of the people and once the people’s wishes are clearly stated they must be upheld. A litmus test of any democracy is the peaceful and orderly transfer of power if that is so ordained by the expressed will of the people. Guyanese expressed their will in a commendably peaceful and orderly manner on March 2 but the pernicious actions of a few have wreaked considerable damage to Guyana’s image and reputation. This was referenced by Chote, who stated that Guyanese expected the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to “do the right thing” given the Commission’s mandate. The question before the Commission, she added, is “Did these people do the right thing?” She added, “The actions of those who wanted to pervert the court of law, turning GECOM into a dark and opaque place…could have led to very serious consequences for this country…I hope those who decided to take such actions as they did have by now recognised how dangerous what they did was to the legal and social and moral fabric of Guyana.”

Undoubtedly, the report of the Commission of Inquiry would validate what right-thinking Guyanese have concluded from the widely publicized March 2020 election debacle, as well as provide recommendations that would strengthen our electoral system.