-by Kurt Campbell-

The opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has again raised concerns over the delay by the Judiciary with respect to the hearing of the Elections Petition filed by the Party, challenging the outcome of the 2015 General and Regional elections.

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee along with other party leaders and members, led a silent and small picketing exercise outside the High Court on Tuesday midday.

They registered the PPP’s dissatisfaction that a date has not yet been fixed for the substantive Petition to be heard.

“This protest is in connection with the Petition filed the PPP more than a year ago and we are not satisfied with the progress being made. As far as we are concerned, justice delayed is justice denied,” Rohee said.

The PPP lost the 2015 elections after 23 years in government but claimed that the elections were rigged, although observers proclaimed that the elections were free, fair and credible.

The Court has been asked to determine and declare that the electoral process was flawed, contained procedural errors and instances of fraudulent or suspicious actions that the results cannot be credibly deemed to represent accurately the will of the electorate.

Rohee told reporters that the PPP wants the petition to be expedited as it maintains that a grave injustice was done to its supporters at the May 2015 elections.

A hearing has been set for September 6th, 2016,  but the General Secretary said that hearing will not see the substantive petition being heard.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had sought to have the court strike out the Petition as frivolous and vexatious but the PPP believes the move is clearly an attempt to deprive the hundreds of thousands of persons who voted for the PPP/C of their right to elect a government of their choice.

“We feel that the process is being slowed down by those who have no interest in having the process expedited… we are dealing with the justice system because in many countries when elections petitions are filed it is done expeditiously,” Rohee added.

The PPP is of the view that given the significance of the matter which was filed since June 24, 2015, it is reasonable to expect that  the hearing of the PPP’s Elections Petition would have gone a far way by now.

In the circumstances, the PPP is calling for the setting of an early date to be fixed for the hearing of its Petition and the relevant application.

Mr. Rohee said the party will continue its protest action until the petition is heard. He said he is not bothered by the small turnout of supporters.

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