APNU Supporters march again to demand verification

A large contingent of supporters of the opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) marched through the streets of Georgetown to the Kingston headquarters of the Elections Commission to press demands for an all-party reconciliation of Statements of Poll in Monday’s polls.

Police ranks kept a close eye on the peaceful crowd which has massed beyond the barriers at Lamaha and Main Streets, about 100 yards from the Commission.

The gathering, which included former senior officers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), was vociferous but peaceful. The march was incident free.

After a few minutes near the police barriers, APNU supporters marched back along Lamaha Street into Vlissengen Road to Square of the Revolution where they were again addressed and told to disperse. Before leaving outside GECOM, there was a difference of opinion over the route that should be used to return to the Square, with some saying they should go down Main Street and possibly to the commercial heart of Georgetown. 

In the city centre, stores remained opened and there was a steady flow of traffic as the protesters almost collectively stayed away from the business centre.

APNU presidential candidate, David Granger told a large gathering of party-faithful, before they began marching, that the results would not be accepted.

The legal deadline for a recount has already passed. But in the past, a Caricom-appointed forensic audit headed by Ulric Cross had conducted a recount of votes cast in the 1997 general elections. Though the recount had confirmed a Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) victory, the elections were vitiated by the High Court on grounds that the use of voter identification cards was illegal.

President-elect Donald Ramotar is expected to be sworn in on Saturday to head Guyana’s first ever minority government.

While staying on the streets at the same time, APNU is pushing for a government of national unity. Ramotar earlier Friday refused to confirm one way or the other whether that was an option. The PPPC’s Central and Executive Committees would first have to meet to discuss how that party expects to run the country effectively without a majority in the 65 -seat National Assembly.