Contempt charge looms over GECOM Chair, CEO, Mingo and Commissioners

Mar 13, 2020 News

Attorney-at-Law Anil Nandlall, on behalf of Reeaz Holladar, will make an application to the Chief Justice today at 10:30 am for a contempt charge to be brought before several Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) officials on the grounds that they failed or refused to comply with the order of Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire in her Wednesday ruling.

The Ashmin’s Building serves as the office of the returning officer for Region Four

The Chief Justice had ruled that there was a breach of the law by Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, and that the declaration he made as a result of the procedural breach was vitiated. As a result, the CJ ordered that Mingo return to the process by 11 am yesterday.
It is this order that the intended application purports that Mingo breached.
The application purports the respondents to be Mingo; Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) through its servants and agents, GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh and the three government-nominated Commissioners, Vincent Alexander, Desmond Trotman and Charles Corbin.
It requests an order that the respondents stand committed to the Georgetown Prison or such place or such place of confinement for one month, and a fine of no less than $750,000 for being in contempt of the Court.
Mingo is accused in the document of failing to commence compliance with section 84(1) of the Representation of the People Act by 11 am yesterday. It had been indicated to the press that the process would start by 11. At least one party representative said that the process began minutes past 11 am.
Mingo is also accused of failing and/or refusing to ascertain the votes recorded in favour of each list of candidates in accordance with the statements of poll, “but instead, chose to use a pre-prepared spreadsheet, as the basis for the ascertaining and adding up of the said votes”.
The Chief Justice’s Wednesday ruling had made it clear that the returning officer is free to decide on the method of tabulation for the ascertainment process, even if it is a spreadsheet. However, the contention of several parties, including the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is not with the general use of a spreadsheet, but with the fact that the spreadsheet presented by Mingo yesterday contained tabulations not witnessed by the observers and the election agents.
They indicated that they were not convinced that the source of the numbers on the spreadsheet came from the Statements of Poll.
Further, Sase Gunraj told reporters yesterday that Mingo indicated, after being questioned, that the spreadsheet he brought yesterday is the same spreadsheet employed for the previous tabulation process which led to the first declaration by Mingo. That declaration has now been declared unlawful by the Chief Justice.
The intended application also purports that Mingo failed and/or refused to allow the duly appointed candidates for all political parties for electoral District number Four to be present at the said exercise, and that he failed to allow all persons entitled under Section 84(1) of the Act to be present.
A GECOM official, Colin April, had approached the press, observers and party agents in the morning, yesterday, indicating that only one representative would be allowed from each observer group and one party agent, to witness the count.
In her ruling, the Chief Justice had said that the presence of all of the officials entitled to witness the count as stated in section 84(1) in the Representation of the People Act is not mandatory. However, in the interest of transparency, she ruled that if they are present, they must witness the count.
Several observers and duly appointed candidates did present themselves at the GECOM centre, but most of them were refused entry.
Lastly, the purported application states that the respondents failed and or refused to take into consideration the need for urgency as directed by the Court.