Five months after the elections, Guyana swears in new president · Global Voices
Guyana's new president, <PERSON>, at his swearing-in ceremony on August 2, 2020. Screenshot from a YouTube video of the event posted by Guyana Uncut.
Five months to the day since Guyana's 2020 general elections took place on March 2, the country has a new president.
On August 2, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair <PERSON> declared <PERSON> as the country's ninth executive president as she confirmed the results of the election in favour of the opposition People's Progressive Party (PPP).
The incumbent coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) had insisted the votes it received in its stronghold electoral district of Region 4 were tantamount to a win, but the entire process was stymied by the manner in which that region's results were tallied — by spreadsheet, rather than by Statements of Poll, which is the legally sanctioned method.
The impasse induced a drawn-out process involving verifications, injunctions, intervention by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a recount and court actions challenging its results, some of which went all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice, Guyana's highest appellate court.
When, however, the Guyana Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that the recount votes should be used to determine and declare the result of the general elections — and that GECOM's official report must be based on that tally — the end was finally in sight.
Less than two hours after <PERSON> made the official GECOM declaration, President <PERSON> was sworn in at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in the capital, Georgetown. General Secretary of the PPP and former president <PERSON> was sworn in as vice president, and former Guyana Defence Force Chief of Staff <PERSON> took the oath as prime minister. The new PPP government is expected to announce additional cabinet appointments at a later date.
Stabroek News, well regarded as the country's paper of record, noted that things moved at a dramatically expeditious pace once the declaration had been made, but described the statement made by GECOM's public relations officer, <PERSON>, as “terse”:
[The Chief Election Officer] CEO submits report to Chairperson using results of the recount of ballots cast at the General and Regional Elections.
On March 6, Stabroek News had published an editorial accusing GECOM of “working in the interest” of the government and “rigging the 2020 general elections right before our eyes”.
A GECOM communiqué explained that after Chief Election Officer <PERSON>, following the instructions of the appeal court, submitted his report based on the results of the recount of ballots, the commission met on August 2 “to deliberate on the report”.
A statement from the Ministry of the Presidency read:
President <PERSON>, this morning, received a call from the Chairman of the Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) <PERSON> who invited him to a conversation with Opposition Leader Mr. 327
<PERSON> to discuss the way forward.
The President explained that he had no objection to speaking with Mr. <PERSON> but as far as a proposed declaration is concerned, he recognised that the Commission has a legal obligation as a result of the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal, to proceed with a declaration.
President <PERSON> said that notwithstanding that declaration, the APNU+ AFC coalition maintains that the anomalies and irregularities which have been uncovered during the recount process cannot be accepted and will form the grounds for an election petition.
The GECOM statement, however, said that the PPP preferred to opt out of any discussions until GECOM had made its declaration. Once this was done, <PERSON> said, the PPP would be “committed to talks on a governance model”.
GECOM reconvened at 2:00 p.m. Guyana time “to deliberate on the [Chief Election Officer’s] report,” and after “careful examination,” the release continued, “Justice <PERSON> declared <PERSON> as President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.”
Outgoing president <PERSON> subsequently issued the following statement:
The APNU+AFC Coalition respects the lawful consequences of the “declaration” as announced by the Chairman of the Elections Commission. I maintain that the Report ordered by the Court and presented to the Commission contains significant anomalies and irregularities.
The APNU+AFC Coalition cannot endorse a flawed Report and will continue its campaign to ensure that the votes of all Guyanese are accurately recorded, tallied and reported. 39