The main opposition APNU yesterday insisted that the upcoming June local government elections cannot proceed without an investigation into the alleged irregularities discovered on PPP/C lists submitted on Nomination Day.
APNU’s Member of Parliament, Shurwayne Holder, who read a press statement at the party’s weekly press conference yesterday said that since Nomination Day on April 17 when contesting parties submitted their lists of candidates to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), it has been discovered that the PPP/C lists “contained numerous instances of forgery, fakery, impersonation and blatant electoral fraudulent acts.”
On Wednesday, GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh told Stabroek News that no evidence had been brought before the commission in relation to forged names.
According to Holder, “these blatant acts of fraud by the PPP amount to an orchestrated attempt to rig” the 2023 local government elections. He said that the discrepancies expose the PPP/C’s “desperation” among the Guyanese people.
Stressing that such acts must be punished by the full force of the law, he said that based on his party’s documented evidence it has been discovered that in some cases one agent for the PPP/C signed for every nominator, nominators were selected without their knowledge and consent with their signatures being forged, signing was done on behalf of nominators who are either deceased or abroad and signing was done on behalf of persons who would normally use their thumbprints.
Additionally, Holder claimed that the PPP/C intimidated nominators to remove their names from APNU lists, coerced and threatened persons to support them and compelled workers in the government’s part-time job programme to participate in political activities.
“Many of the affected persons have written to or have directly approached GECOM regional offices and the Guyana Police Force to lodge complaints”, Holder stated
PPP/C General Secre-tary, Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that in relation to the deceased voter, the woman died one week prior to Nomination Day. According to Jagdeo, he had spoken directly to her husband who is actively campaigning with the PPP.
Jagdeo said that some of the signatures in question were acquired since last year. In terms of other issues, he said, their party candidate said that she went personally to the houses to acquire signatures to back the list.
Jagdeo stressed that persons who are claiming fraud can report the matter to the police to be investigated.
Holder noted that APNU has also written the Commissioner of Police to request a meeting to present the evidence and to demand that the police take action against the “fraudsters and their controllers at Freedom House.”
Evidence
On Wednesday, Singh said that it is only when evidence is provided that GECOM can take it to the police.
“We have not received any evidence on that. Unless we have evidence we cannot go forward. We need statements from people we need evidence; that’s the only way I could go to the police”, Singh said
“They are saying that why I don’t take the evidence but where is it. Nobody has approached us. We haven’t seen anything”, she stated.
April 26th was the last day to deal with queries of names on the lists and as of now the names are approved with no queries raised at the level of the commission, according to the Chief Election Officer, Vishnu Persaud.
With the names approved, the next step according to Persaud is the processing of ballots for the June 12th Election.
Holder said that his party has noted GECOM suggesting that the matter cannot be investigated at this stage. However, he stressed that the responsibility for free and fair elections lies at the feet of GECOM.
He added, that if GECOM fails to engage the Guyana Police Force to ensure that action is taken against those responsible, then the credibility of the local government elections would be in question “and should not proceed until an investigation is done into the irregularities involving the PPP and its activists.”
The statement, Holder read, also lashed out at Singh, who Holder labeled a “pawn” for the PPP/C claiming that she cannot deliver a free, fair, and credible election.
Holder added that despite the “evidence” revealed, his party has noted the silence from civil society, the diplomatic community and some main media houses as well as the “Guardians of Demo-cracy.” As such, he said, APNU was calling on those persons to stop being “convenient advocates of free and fair elections and join the people of Guyana in demanding that GECOM and the Guyana Police Force treat with the necessary urgency and seriousness the blatant attempt by the PPP/C to rig” the local government elections.
According to him, APNU will not allow the matter to be ignored nor will they allow the elections to be rigged and the “will of the Guyanese people to be perverted by the PPP.”
(Additional reporting by Joseph Allen)
