Lowenfield takes court action to prevent Govt. commissioners from participating in his dismissal

Jul 10, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Embattled Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, has filed an application in the High Court seeking several actions, one of which includes an order to prevent Government-nominated GECOM commissioners, Sase Gunraj and Bibi Shaddick, from participating in the discussion of a motion tabled for his dismissal from GECOM.

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield.

Lowenfield’s lawyer, Nigel Hughes, filed the application on Tuesday. According to a document seen by this publication, GECOM is the named respondent in the matter.
Lowenfield is seeking a declaration that he is entitled to the protection of the rules of natural justice and the right to a fair hearing and determination for the motion of his dismissal brought by Gunraj and seconded by Shaddick.

Government-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Sase Gunraj.

Secondly, he made an application for an order restraining the two named Government commissioners from participating as adjudicators in the hearing of the motion for his dismissal. Thirdly, Lowenfield wants a declaration that Gunraj and Shaddick, cannot properly participate, hear and determine their own complaint against him, in the motion for his dismissal.
Lastly, the CEO is seeking a declaration that GECOM, the name respondent in the matter, having determined that there shall be a hearing of the motion for his dismissal, is bound to provide him with a fair hearing, including the protections of the rules of natural justice.

Government-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Bibi Shaddick.

According to Lowenfield, the grounds for his application among other things is that he is entitled to the rules of natural justice, to a fair hearing in keeping with the terms of his employment contract, including the right not to have Gunraj and Shaddick participate as adjudicators in the hearing of their own complaints against him.
He then stated that the two Government GECOM commissioners in the deliberations of his dismissal “infected the deliberations of the Commission with bias.”
Lowenfield along with other GECOM officials are currently before City Magistrates for electoral fraud. Those charges stemmed from a series of alleged grave violations by the GECOM workers connected to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and for their defiance of the instructions by the GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, who instructed that the recount figures be used for the final results of the elections.
Last month, GECOM had decided to send Lowenfield and Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers, and Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, on annual leave pending the outcome of discussions on a motion seeking their dismissal.
According to reports, the decision to instruct the officers to proceed on annual leave followed a statutory meeting of GECOM Commissioners. According to a statement disseminated by the Commission, the trio proceeded on leave with effect from Monday June 28, 2021.
Lowenfield’s alleged involvement in the attempt to rig last year’s elections has left him facing three counts of misconduct in public office, three counts of forgery, and the two conspiracy charges. According to reports, Myers and Mingo are also before the court facing multiple electoral fraud charges. It was reported that Myers is facing two counts of misconduct in public office and two conspiracy charges, while Mingo is facing four charges alleging misconduct in public office, forgery, and conspiracy.

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