The Court of Appeal Monday dismissed an appeal challenging the ruling of Chief Justice Roxane George, who had thrown out an election petition following the controversial 2020 general and regional elections.
The Court of Appeal agreed that the High Court ruling that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had a constitutional right to order a recount of the votes cast in the March, 2, 2020 general and regional elections.
Justice Dawn Gregory said Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act empowered GECOM to remove any difficulty that had arisen or would arise in the execution of its constitutional functions.
The opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Chance (APNU+AFC) elections petition was dismissed over two years ago, challenging the recount.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal said it did not find any violation of separation of powers between the executive and the legislature to make it an unlawful and unconstitutional violation. The judges noted that then president David Granger and then opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo had agreed that there should have been a recount.
