Lowenfield’s report belongs at Haags Bosch dumpsite

Lowenfield’s report belongs at Haags Bosch dumpsite – FITUG

Jun 26, 2020 News

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) does not approve of the elections report submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Justice Claudette Singh by Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield. It said that the report, part of “naked attempts to thwart the will of the people”, belongs at the Haags Bosch dumpsite.

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield

FITUG noted the report purports to dump more than 115,844 votes which were validly cast at the March 2 polls “without any explanation”. It also seeks to erase the lead the PPP/C has amassed, as tabulated and certified at the National Recount, granting the victory instead to the APNU+AFC coalition.
Though it recognises that the consideration of the report must await the pending case at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Federation is of the view that Lowenfield’s report should be rejected outright, just like his previous report in which he had attempted to dump 269,619 valid votes, as well as the two fraudulent declarations made by Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.
It is of the view that the persons who are a party to acts of electoral fraud should face the full brunt of the law.
“The record-speed in which Mr Lowenfield submitted his report,” FITUG said, “in our view, demonstrates his active participation in seeking to undermine our democracy. His actions have only further cemented the strongly held view regarding the partiality of the Secretariat of the Elections Commission.”
FITUG is not the first to condemn the Chief Elections Officer for apparently partisan posturing. He has also been condemned by the political parties, People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) and A New and United Guyana (ANUG); as well as the local elections observers, Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
FITUG said that the Guyanese people have grown upset about the “shenanigans” at full display during this electoral process “seemingly as the behest of the incumbent Administration to perpetuate its grip on power.”
The Federation added to calls for the complete results of the valid votes cast, as tabulated and certified during the National Recount, to be respected. Those show that the PPP/C gained 233,336 valid votes ahead of APNU+AFC’s 217,920 valid votes.
“These sordid attempts by compromised individuals cannot and will not change that reality,” it said.
FITUG added that if the coalition intends to take Guyana down the road of undemocratic rule again, it is not only saddening, but it is disturbing that the attempts are being supported by individuals who “were once part of the bulwark of the struggles for democracy…”
“Indeed as the days go by, the masks are falling off and the truth is being revealed.”
This is the time, FITUG posited, for people to push back against self-interested tyrants. It called on the Elections Commission to heed the one credible and acceptable result of the election, and to resist all attempts to undermine Guyana’s democracy.