See full release from the APNU+AFC:
The APNU+AFC Coalition would like to inform the public that its Chief Election Scrutineer, Carol Smith-Joseph, was instructed yesterday to report to SOCU on Friday morning, 9th December.
Ms. Smith-Joseph was not provided with any reasons for the summon. The Coalition calls on citizens to condemn this action as intimidatory. politically driven and, therefore, totally unacceptable.
As the Opposition’s Chief Election Scrutineer, Ms. Smith-Joseph has been on the forefront of our struggle for credible elections, inclusive of a clean voters list. On Friday, 2nd December, she filed an application asking the court for declarations that GECOM violated several provisions of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act in the preparation of the List of Electors for the Local Government Elections. As the public is aware, the court action immediately forced the CEO of GECOM to propose that GECOM take several corrective actions.
The summoning of Smith-Joseph by the Police is a violation of her basic human rights as a law-abiding citizen. It is an abuse of police powers. SOCU obviously has become a tool of PPP political victimization and intimidation. SOCU can better serve the citizens of Guyana by redirecting its efforts to investigating the blatant corruption and criminality in high government offices, starting with Su-gate.
