A week after A Partnership for National Unity / Alliance for Change (APNU / AFC) threw out one of his election petitions, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon has revealed his party’s intention to appeal the decision.
Harmon made this pronunciation during a virtual press conference on Monday. He noted that the party believed it had sound grounds for the petition and would therefore appeal for her dismissal by acting Chief Justice Roxanne George.
“I would like to address the issue of our election petitions. And I would like to assure all our supporters and Guyanese who are deeply interested in the outcome of this issue, we will follow through on our election petitions, both of them. Petition number 88, we will pursue it with unwavering energy. ”
“And I would appeal against the Chief Justice’s decision on petition 99, which he ruled was not permissible. We do not agree with her ruling and as the law provides, we will appeal against that decision, ”said the Opposition leader.
According to Harmon, the petitions address key questions related to the March 2. General and Regional elections. When it comes to the lone surviving petition, Harmon said they will make submissions to the court .
“While they are addressing separate issues, they will establish that fraud is widespread in the March 2020 elections … in relation to petition 88, we expect a hearing of that petition in the courts in early April. In the meantime, the parties will provide fortnightly court submissions, leading up to that date. So, we already have a timeline. ”
Petition 99 of 2020, filed September 15, 2020, by APNU / AFC agents Monica Thomas and Nurse Brennan, asked the court to order the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh, to declare that David Granger is President. However, Chief Justice George rejected the petition on the grounds that it had not been duly submitted to former President Granger.
Granger, who is also the leader of the APNU / AFC Candidate List and named second respondent, served September 25, 10 days after the filing of petition 99 of 2020 on September 15 and five days outside the legal and outlined in the National Assembly Elections Validity Act.