Ms. Carol Smith-Joseph, the Chief Election Scrutineer, received instructions on Wednesday to report to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) on December 9. The APNU+AFC, however, has moved to denounce SOCU’s move alleging that Smith-Joseph has not been given any information on why her presence is required at the agency.
The coalition has criticized the summoning of its Chief Election Scrutineer as an abuse of police authority. The parties also claim that SOCU has turned into a vehicle for PPP political intimidation and victimization.
APNU+AFC is adamant that SOCU can better serve the people of Guyana by refocusing its attention on Su-gate and other cases of apparent corruption and criminal activity in senior Government positions.
In a recent application, Carol Smith-Joseph asked the High Court to declare that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had broken various rules of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act when creating the list of voters for Local Government Elections.
