Georgetown: On Sunday, Chairman of GECOM Justice (rt’d) Claudette Singh officially declared Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progress Party as the President of Guyana.
He is Guyana’s 9th Executive President. In his inaugural speech as the ninth Executive President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali talked up the prospects of unity under the new People’s Progressive Party Government.
Dr Ali took the Oath of Office at a simple ceremony Sunday afternoon at the Arthur Chung Conference Center before Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings Edwards.
“We will not disappoint you,” Ali said, calling for unity among Guyanese as the PPP commences its work in Government.
“We thank you sincerely for your confidence and your trust but you will know that in voting for the PPP you’ve elected a Government to serve all the people of Guyana and that is what we will be doing,” Dr Ali added.
“We are in this together, we are not separated,” the new President said as he looks forward to a smooth transmission in Government.
Ali said he will move swiftly to appoint and name his new cabinet so that the work of Government can commence instantaneously.
“You will have a Government that is accessible and one that will be more than willing to share with you information as we work on building our Guyana in the interest of all,” he said.
Heads of the Army, Police and Fire Service along with senior members of the PPP were present along with several heads of overseas missions.
Ali was also joined by the former head of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Mark Phillips who will serve alongside him as Prime Minister in the new government.
Ali is being sworn as President following a five-month-long delay in the declaration of the results of the election.
Guyanese went to the polls on March 02, 2020, to elect a new government.
Ali served in the former PPP government as Minister of Housing and Minister of Tourism. He is married to Arya Ali and fathers a son.
See below full statement issued by GECOM:
August 2 2020, GEORGETOWN – Following the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal on 30th July, 2020, the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh wrote to the Chief Election Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield requesting that he presents his report using the results of the recount of the ballots cast in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The CEO complied with the Chairperson’s request and submitted the report as requested. Subsequently, a meeting of the Commission was convened on August 2, 2020 to the deliberate on report and to discuss ‘the way forward’.
It was during that meeting that the Commissioners representing the APNU/AFC Coalition recommended that the GECOM Chairperson, Justice Claudette Singh should consult with the leaders of the APNU/AFC and the PPP/C to initiate talks between the two in an effort to resolve the ongoing election disputes.
Justice Singh agreed and spoke with Mr. David Granger and Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo. However, Mr. Jagdeo opted not engage in any talks with Mr. Granger prior to a declaration by the Guyana Elections Commission. He has committed to talks on a governance model after the declaration.
Consequent to the foregoing, the meeting was adjourned and reconvened at 14:00hrs to deliberate on the CEO’s report.
After careful examination of the report, Justice Claudette Singh declared Mohamed Ifraan Ali as President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. A copy of the declaration is attached for reference
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