Appeal Court clears way for Guyana recount

The Court of Appeal in Guyana on Tuesday effectively cleared the way March 2 polls to be declared without any supervision from a Caricom observer team.

The order said it would be unconstitutional for the Guyana Elections Commission to abdicate or delegate its supervisory function over the recount of the ballots.

On Sunday, the court had ruled that the election body could not farm out its responsibilities to anyone else in reference to a proposal for a Caricom team to "supervise" the counting process.

The Appeal Court in a formal order on Tuesday confirmed its findings which paves the way for the recount to take place unhindered.

Justice Dawn Gregory, sitting with two other judges – Rishi Persaud and Brassington Reynolds – ruled that GECOM’s decision to act on an agreement by President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo for a Caricom team to supervise the recount was illegal.

“Any agreement in which supervision is removed from GECOM will be unlawful,” she said. The court relied on a GECOM press statement that spoke of the team’s intention to “supervise” the counting process.

GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander said last week the recount would be done under rules to be set by the commission in accordance with its constitutional responsibilities rather than the provisions for counting as stated in the Representation of the People Act.

The court also ruled that a ruling that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit be set aside.

The Appeal Court in a previous ruling had effectively discarded an application which sought to inquire in the constitutionality of the election body to conduct a recount.

On Monday, Prime Minister Rowley who accompanied a Caricom team seeking to resolve the dispute amid rising tension in the South American country defended the regional body decision to assist and described the Appeal Court's interpretation of the word supervise as "disturbing" and "concerning."

The controversial polls were condemned within days by a joint letter by local diplomats from US, UK, EU and Canada, followed by strong statements by the US State Department, Caricom, Commonwealth, Organisation of American States (OAS), Carter Center and a bipartisan group of US congressmen.