Opposition leader Irfaan Ali sworn in as president of Guyana after drawn-out dispute

A former member of parliament and housing minister was sworn in Sunday as Guyana’s ninth executive president, ending a five-month drawn out legal battle and contentious fight over flawed votes and uncertainty over who will lead the South American nation amid a historic oil find.

Mohamed Irfaan Ali, leader of the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) coalition, was declared president of the English-speaking nation earlier Sunday by the Guyana Elections Commission, or GECOM. In its declaration, GECOM said the PPP/C had won the disputed March 2 presidential and regional election.

The long-awaited announcement came after chief elections officer, Keith Lowenfield, finally submitted an elections report based on the results of a 33-day national recount that was conducted by GECOM and observed by the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc, CARICOM. The submission cleared the way for GECOM Chairwoman, retired justice, Claudette Singh to make the official elections declaration.

The report shows that the PPP/C won 33 seats in Parliament to the outgoing government’s A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition’s 31.

Calling for his supporters to remain calm, outgoing President David Granger said his coalition will respect the elections declaration, but “will challenge the declared results lawfully, peacefully and purposefully.”

“I have stated, repeatedly, from the start of the electoral process, that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition would respect the lawful ‘declaration’ of the Elections Commission,” Granger said in a statement. “The APNU+AFC Coalition cannot endorse a flawed Report and will continue its campaign to ensure that the votes of all Guyanese are accurately recorded, tallied and reported.”

Coalition members, supporters and friends, who had been patient throughout the prolonged legal process in the courts, should continue to conduct themselves in a lawful and peaceful manner, Granger added.

For weeks, Lowenfield had argued that the March 2 vote was tainted by fraud and invalid votes, and the election should be annulled. As a result, he repeatedly defied requests from Singh to submit his final report based on the recount’s results, which showed the PPP/C winning.

Instead, Lowenfield chose to submit a report that ruled out more than 100,000 and gave Granger and his A Partnership for National Unity coalition a narrow victory.

With Granger and his ruling government also maintaining that the election should be thrown out, several legal challenges ensued with one reaching all the way to the country’s final court of appeals, the Caribbean Court of Justice.

All ruled against Granger and Lowenfield’s positions. The latest ruling came on Thursday when the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld a decision by Chief Justice Roxane George that affirmed the national vote recount and said Lowenfield must do as he is told. The challenge had been brought by Granger’s APNU+AFC coalition.

The ongoing post-electoral crisis involving allegations of fraud had threatened to derail Guyana’s oil-driven economic boom and deepen already simmering ethnic tensions. The disputed lead to the Trump administration announcing visa suspensions last month for members of Granger’s government. The Organization of American States and the United Nations also called for an end to the impasse.

In congratulating Ali, 40, the OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said democracy was put to the test during this process.

“Although it ultimately prevailed, it is clear there are weaknesses in Guyana’s electoral system that must be addressed,” the hemispheric body said in a statement. “In the coming months we will issue our final report on the 2020 process with recommendations that can assist in addressing these weaknesses and avoiding a similar situation in the future.”

The OAS also congratulated Singh “for remaining true to her convictions and standing firm against the many efforts to undermine the will of the people.”

Following Thursday’s unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal, the elections commission met on Sunday. Singh spoke with Granger and opposition leader and former president Bharrat Jagdeo about meeting to discuss the way forward. Jagdeo opted not engage in any talks with Granger prior to a declaration by the Guyana Elections Commission, the commission said in a statement. Jagdeo will serve as vice president and lead the transition.

In a statement shared with journalists prior to the swearing-in via WhatsApp Sunday, Granger’s coalition said he had no problems speaking with Jagdeo, but as far as a proposed declaration is concerned, he recognized that the commission has a legal obligation as a result of the Court of Appeal ruling to proceed with a declaration.

The APNU+AFC coalition, the statement said, “maintains that the anomalies and irregularities, which have been uncovered during the recount process cannot be accepted and will form the grounds for an election petition.”