GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Friday April 3, 2020 – The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has agreed to move ahead with a full recount of votes cast in the March 2 general and regional elections.

But it says it will not begin until the Court of Appeal rules in private citizen Ulita Grace Moore’s challenge to a March 31 decision of the Full Court that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear her application to block GECOM from moving ahead with the national recount.

In a statement issued earlier today, GECOM said it would go ahead with the recount and it would be done chronologically, beginning from Region One, Barima-Waini.

In a subsequent statement, however, it indicated that it would await the Court of Appeal decision in Moore’s case first.

It said that attorney-at-law Kim Kyte, who is representing GECOM’s Chairman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh in the appeal matter, had informed the parties and Appellate Court Justices Dawn Gregory Barnes, Brassington Reynolds and Rishi Persaud that the election body’s further decisions will be held back until the Court hands down its ruling.

Justice Gregory-Barnes indicated that the court will rule on Sunday.

The recount had been requested on March 15 by President David Granger, who asked the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to organize the supervision of the process to allay doubts about the validity of the results, particularly for the disputed Region Four, Demerara-Mahaica district.

That request was agreed to by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and an aide memoire was signed.

However, the preparations for the recount were halted after the injunction was filed by Moore and a CARICOM team that was on the ground for the recount left the country.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/guyanas-elections-body-agrees-to-vote-recount-but-awaits-court-of-appeal-ruling#ixzz6IeWb5C6c