Despite a move to the courts to stop the declaration of the March 2 General and Regional Elections using the recount data, there is nothing legally stopping the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from conducting its business, that is, receiving a report from the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, and the subsequent declaration of a victor. At least, this was according to Opposition-nominated Commission, Sase Gunraj, who spoke to the media this afternoon outside of the GECOM Headquarters in Georgetown.
“I have read the proceedings and there is no impediment that prevents the Commission from proceeding with its work…There is no order preventing him (Lowenfield) from submitting that report nor no order preventing her (GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh) from receiving that report,” he said.
Government-nominated Commissioners have argued that it is a norm for the Commission to momentarily halt its operations until court cases are over, and the same position should be taken now. But Gunraj disagrees.
“I don’t know that, that is a precedent. On one occasion, what you had was an order being made stopping us; there was actually an injunction granted stopping us. On another occasion, they (Government-nominated Commissioners) did not show up…. We need to stop pussyfooting on these matters and get on with the business of the day…Courts have procedures. If they want something stopped, they grant injunctions. In this case, there is no injunction granted, so obviously, there is nothing stopping GECOM…If every day I want something stopped, I would just file something. And this, clearly, is an abuse of the court system,” Gunraj said.
