Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Nigel Hughes, now says that a meeting with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is not an obstacle to the party conducting a review of the role of its members during the attempt to give the APNU+AFC coalition victory through the declaration of fraudulent Region Four results, following the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Hughes made this disclosure on Friday when asked by the Guyana Chronicle about GECOM’s response to his earlier claims about the delay in conducting the promised review.In Friday’s press conference, the party leader reiterated his commitment to the review, a commitment he had asserted upon assuming office.
However, he added, “I certainly didn’t say that it was because of GECOM that’s why we were delayed.”Hughes went on to add that the party is conducting that review and when that begins, the members of the party will know.
He said, “This is not going to become a public spectacle, but it certainly is going to be a very robust internal process.
”However, when questioned by the Guyana Chronicle December last about the party’s analysis of its role during that time, Hughes had blamed GECOM for not yet starting the process.“We haven’t completed that as yet; no,” Hughes said during the party’s press conference in December.
He said that the party is expected to do so, and further indicated that as part of this process they want to meet with the GECOM.
Hughes claimed at that time that over the past four to five weeks, the elections commission has refused to meet with the party.Further chiming in, the party’s chairman, David Patterson, said that there are several “issues” that have to be cleared up by the Elections Commission and as such, they are awaiting a meeting.
Subsequently, GECOM in a statement said that it could not be held responsible for the delays in meeting with the AFC.
“Nigel Hughes, leader of the AFC, in responding to a query from the floor regarding whether his party had conducted any review of the 2020 General and Regional Elections, claimed that his party could not conduct such review on the pretext they were awaiting a meeting with GECOM and that the outcome of such meeting would help the party to better conduct a review,” GECOM said in its statement.
To this end, the commission noted that the AFC’s initial letter to GECOM was dated September 9, 2024, to which the Chief Elections Officer responded on September 11, 2024, advising the party to address its letter to the Chairperson of the commission.
However, the statement indicated that taking a cue from the receipt of the copy of the CEO’s correspondence, the Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh wrote a letter dated September 23, 2024, to the AFC suggesting October 8 or 22, 2024 enquiring which date would be convenient for the party to meet with GECOM.
Further to this, it was noted that it wasn’t until October 17 that the party wrote the chairman expressing regrets for the delayed response.The commission went on to state that the chairperson had responded on October 18, requesting that the party provide a list of issues or concerns they desire to be addressed. Upon receipt, a new date would be set.
The AFC responded on November 11 providing that list and as such; the chairperson responded on November 27 inviting the party to a meeting on December 3. Up to the release of the statement, no response was received from the party.
Hughes had noted that his party will have to conduct an investigation into what it did during the 2020 General and regional elections, when he was asked some time ago if the party is going to apologise for the role it played in attempting to rig the elections.
