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Coalition preparing for Court again if GECOM blocked from creating clean voters’ list

 

PNCR’s James Bond addressing a group of persons after they picketed a short distance from the office of the Guyana Elections Commission, Kingston, Georgetown.

With the backing of just under 100 supporters, the governing coalition on Friday signaled that it was prepared to mount a legal challenge to any attempt to block the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from preparing for general elections that are expected this year now that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled that the six-month-old no-confidence motion was validly passed and the GECOM Chairman’s appointment was unconstitutional.

“We must have a lawful, free, fair and credible elections and no man is going to circumvent GECOM. No man will circumvent GECOM. We will take whoever to court if they tell us that GECOM can’t do their work. We will go to court,” said James Bond of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the biggest party in the governing coalition.

Reacting to the CCJ’s ruling that the no-confidence motion was valid, President David Granger has insisted that elections would be held after house-to-house registration to deal with defects in about 200,000 names and the exclusion of youths who have attained the age of 18 years and are eligible to vote. He did not say how he arrived at 200,0000 names. Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has called Granger’s position a “flagrant lie” because two cycles of continuous registration were aimed at capturing those who were 14 years old and their names have since been shifted to the voters’ roll.

The CCJ is expected to hand down orders next Monday afternoon, if lawyers representing the government and the parties do not agree to a proposed set of orders that should flow from the judgements.

Bond also threatened more street protests if the country’s elections management authority was blocked from preparing for general elections. In what sounded like a carefully worded impromptu speech to the protesters who picketed GECOM’s headquarters just beyond police barriers at Camp and Lamaha Streets, Georgetown, Bond urged supporters not to appear weak in the eyes of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

Foreign Affairs Minister, Karen Cummings addressing the group of pro-government supporters.

“The minute you stop struggling, they take advantage of you. The minute the PPP Civic see that you’re a dormant party and that is why I told my AFC (Alliance For Change) colleague, ‘do not implode’. The minute they see weakness, these piranhas will strike and we have got to be vigilant, we have got to be mobile,” he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Karen Cummings, who joined the picket line, told reporters that she has been briefing the diplomatic community about the political situation in Guyana; the latest being the European Union Ambassador to Guyana, Jernej Videtič.

“We want to ensure that those who need to vote will vote. We also want to let them know that the (voters’) list expired on April 30 so right now we have no proper list. It’s an illegal, corrupt list so we want that list to be sanitized and so that’s why we marched here. We have a mission. We want credible elections. We want to give everybody a chance to vote; credible registration, credible elections, so let’s continue the fight,” said Cummings.

AFC Executive Member, Sherod Duncan warned that “we stand a greater chance of being disenfranchised if we go to elections without a proper list” to justify his call for young people to be given a fair chance to cast their ballots.

He told the supporters that it is the GECOM Chairman who always advises the President about the elections management authority’s readiness for general elections. “We are going to wait until the Chairman of GECOM says that we are fit and proper and ready. Jagdeo wants elections tomorrow and he has created a situation where they are saying that the GECOM Chairman has been appointed improperly. He has created the situation and he is calling for elections as soon as possible. Well, you can’t have it bake and cake. Present your list and when you present your list, the President will act in his own deliberate judgment on the list and we will take things from there,” said Duncan who was recently elected to head the Region 4 Chapter of the AFC.

The CCJ has ruled that President Granger’s unilateral appointment of James Patterson as GECOM Chairman was flawed and unconstitutional because the Guyanese leader had not given reasons for rejecting Jagdeo’s 18 nominees. The court, in its judgement, has said that in keeping with the constitutional provision for an inclusionary democracy, evolution of the constitutional reform process and the general trend towards openness and transparency, the Opposition Leader and the President should decide on the list after which the agreed list would be formally presented to the President for him to pick one as the GECOM Chairman.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

The RACIST and VIOLENt PNC will do anything to retain POWER!! They are  This FOOL making statement that makes you want to Laff. Bloody IDIOT. His 100 followers missed Jim Jones by a foot!!the MOST SHAMELESS bunch on the Planet!!

Nehru
VishMahabir posted:

I sense Guyana is on a path to further racial conflict and tensions...

not a good sign

You don't see the PNC defying the ruling of the highest court of the Caribbean? Is it not obvious to you that they using every delaying tactic to stay on in office? Racial tension is nothing new to us. Tell us something we don't know.

Billy Ram Balgobin

Aile bai...aile...blackman want control de aile money juss like dem coolieman on jagdoe camp...dem man not obeying no CCJ. When yuh control army and police and criminal element and public service yuh not obeying CCJ...hey hey hey. Dem blackman gat powah when dem in govet and out de govt. Hey hey hey...

FM
ksazma posted:

And that is why I will NEVER support the PNC. They have done nothing other than behave criminally for the entire duration of their 50 years history.

Neither is 100% bad or 100% good.  If they can only learn to work better, Guyana will be better off.

Baseman
Baseman posted:
ksazma posted:

And that is why I will NEVER support the PNC. They have done nothing other than behave criminally for the entire duration of their 50 years history.

Neither is 100% bad or 100% good.  If they can only learn to work better, Guyana will be better off.

Neither is 100% but the PNC has the worst record in Guyana in regard to democracy and willingness to surrender power peacefully.

FM
  • Labba posted:

Aile bai...aile...blackman want control de aile money

is not “blackman” who tief the “aile” fields banna

“control” of oil revenues is subject to political recall

but how do you recall legalownership”?

alyuh think alyuh smart

come in rodent, i cyaan hear yuh

FM
Last edited by Former Member
Nehru posted:

The RACIST and VIOLENt PNC will do anything to retain POWER!! They are  This FOOL making statement that makes you want to Laff. Bloody IDIOT. His 100 followers missed Jim Jones by a foot!!the MOST SHAMELESS bunch on the Planet!!

Screaming and shouting wont get you nothing. Help to persuade the audience that there are other options than the fellow is proposing.

FM
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
VishMahabir posted:

I sense Guyana is on a path to further racial conflict and tensions...

not a good sign

You don't see the PNC defying the ruling of the highest court of the Caribbean? Is it not obvious to you that they using every delaying tactic to stay on in office? Racial tension is nothing new to us. Tell us something we don't know.

The AG already ... what they intend. A ruling will come down, 106 and 107 taken together will be interpreted is they have all the facility of a government as if an NCV has not been carried. GECOM will take a month to detail their H2H plan, Granger will take another to "absorb" it and then will declare the process must go on 9 months to a year down the road they will call elections!

The PPP simply were not that smart and prorogued parliament so they were stuck with only getting 6 months in office. 

FM
Bibi Haniffa posted:

Dawn Hastings has completely lost her mind if she believes that they can ignore the CCJ ruling.  If they have the testicular fortitude to do this, then Bharrat for third term.

They can and they will. They will claim they are following the ruling but hold the Constitution as pre eminent hence the yowling about sovereignty. 

Bharrat is the ppp kryptonite. He will kill them with his obstinacy as smarts. He already passed on his kleptocracy as progress! 

FM
Last edited by Former Member

The Coalition has respected the rulings of the CCJ and the Local Courts in these Constitutional matters

alyuh crocodile barking notwithstanding

and Amna already called the square peg ministas in for fitness

however, APNU-AFC party people have a right to protest for NON-FRAUD elections

FM
Last edited by Former Member

Jagdeo and Granger has to put Guyana first and strike a deal that’s workable for everyone. 

PNC will NOT give up until H2H registration is done... so Jagdeo should propose to Granger the following.

- The Government step down and appoint an interim government to manage the affairs of the country.

- Find a GECOM chairman who is NOT Guyanese but acceptable to both PNC and PPP.

- Have the H2H registration done and set a date for election.  

FM

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