The Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance (APNU+AFC), says it notes the decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to release to the Attorney General documented evidence submitted by the APNU+AFC to establish its claim of massive fraud at the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
This development, the Opposition said in a statement earlier today, necessitates informing the Guyanese public, Civil Society, and other stakeholders of several revelations that give credence to their claim that the 2020 General and Regional Elections were riddled with fraud committed by the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and, thus, could not have reflected the democratic will of the Guyanese people.
Below represents the case being made by the Opposition:-
FIRST, it would be recalled that during the national recount of votes, the APNU+AFC had objected to the names of persons who were recorded as having voted but were out of the country on Election Day. Subsequently, the APNU+AFC submitted to the Elections Commission more than a thousand such cases of voter impersonation. It is important to highlight here that we were unable to make such submissions in relation to the 47 ballot boxes from the East Coast because the relevant documents from those boxes went missing. Of further concern is the fact that the area for which these documents were missing fell under the supervision of Attorney General Anil Nandlall as the PPP/C agent.
SECOND, the Attorney General requested the information from GECOM purportedly to initiate an investigation into the submitted material. Why would the Attorney-General seek to meddle in matters that are subject to a petition hearing and, for that matter, a politically inspired COI? And why would he be interested only in the APNU+AFC submission and not also in the verification of that submission sent to GECOM by the Chief Immigration Officer?
The request and the reason provided by AG Nandlall are farcical. But, true to form – and consistent with her collusion with the PPP/C commissioners on every issue – Chairperson Claudette Singh voted to release the material to the Attorney General, demonstrating again her refusal to act in a manner that is independent and impartial, both in reality and in the public perception.
Moreover, her vote to release the material whilst there is an ongoing Election Petition, in which these issues are before the Courts, is unacceptable and improper. Her total disregard even to appear neutral and professional makes her continued stint as GECOM Chair untenable. She must now RESIGN.
THIRD, in relation to the APNU+AFC’s submission of documented evidence of voter impersonation by the PPP/C, we can inform the public that GECOM wrote to the Chief Immigration Officer seeking to verify whether the persons under question were in fact out of the country on March 2, 2020.
The Chief Immigration officer, in one correspondence dated the 27th May, 2022, confirmed that over 100 votes on one of the lists submitted by the Coalition were cast for persons who were, in fact, out of the country on Election Day.
More names remain to be checked and our list of dead persons who miraculously managed to vote also awaits verification.
FOURTH, since the initial responses from the Chief Immigration Officer, GECOM has mysteriously ceased to seek confirmation of the other hundreds of names submitted by the Coalition. Even worse, Chairperson Singh has declined to act on the irrefutable evidence of significant voter impersonation already in GECOM’s possession. This is a blatant dereliction of duty on her part. It provides further justification to our call for her to step down.
FIFTH, APNU+AFC have requested copies from GECOM of all the correspondence from the Chief Immigration Officer. From what we have seen thus far, voter impersonation in the March 2020 election seriously calls into question the validity of the election results.
SIXTH, we demand that GECOM urgently submit all our submissions to the Guyana Police Force and the General Registry Office for verification. The commission must then publicly release all the verification reports. Furthermore, it must apprise the nation of the corrective and redemptive actions it intends to take considering the expected evidence of massive voter impersonation. Our demands are reasonable and in the best interest of the country.
SEVENTH, we expect the PPP/C will soon crank up its propaganda machine and exhibit a few selected persons who were mistakenly included on the APNU+AFC submissions to GECOM. However, these mistakes will not undermine the confirmed evidence that the level of voter impersonation reached significant level as to question whether the election results reflected the true will of the Guyanese people. Guyanese must not be fooled or distracted by the PPP/C’s efforts to cover up its fraudulent acts in the 2020 elections.
FINALLY, it is simply indefensible and reckless for GECOM and the PPP/C to believe that credible and acceptable elections can be conducted using the very bloated voters list used in the March 2020 election. A clean voters list is a must.
We note that the PPP/C government has sworn in a COI into the 2020 General and Regional Elections. We cannot support such a decision. The matter is before the court and should be dealt with through the Election Petition.
It is ridiculous for President Ali to be setting up useless commissions while Guyanese are calling for an international team to investigate the alleged bribery and corruption of Second Vice President Jagdeo. The government continues to be complicit in the cover up and is sending the clear signal that it condones and supports corruption once it is committed by the PPP elite, friends, and families.
The President needs to ensure a credible group of international investigators are brought in to investigate the allegations against the embattled Second Vice President and against a Guyana Police Force that is politicised, corrupt and incapable of enforcing law and order in a fair and impartial way.
