GECOM’s CEO, others can get life in prison, fined $10M for fraud

Nov 07, 2021 News

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Govt. proposes new elections laws with stiffer penalties…

Kaieteur News – Under the proposed amendments for the electoral law, the Chief Election Officer (CEO) at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) can face life imprisonment along with a hefty fine of $10 million for committing fraud.

A draft document of the proposed changes to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA), the main electoral law, was released to the public on Friday for consultation. The document will be reviewed by key stakeholders including the Government, Opposition, civil society groups and members of the public at large within a six-week timeframe for which, they can make objections and give feedback on the new law.
According to the draft, under the amended law not only can the CEO face hefty penalties for fraud, but other top officials within the elections machinery can face jail time for similar offences.
The draft amendment comes more than one year after the Guyana’s Regional and General elections were held. The results of the 2020 polls were protracted for close to six months due to allegations of fraud and miscalculations of the votes. The country’s former CEO, Keith Lowenfield, Deputy CEO, Roxanne Myers and Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, are all before the Court, charged with fraud.
Added to that, they have all been dismissed from GECOM. As such under the new law, the Chief Election Officer is liable of an offence “if he makes false statements, knowingly posts or caused to be posted an electronic copy of a statement of poll that is not a true copy of the certified copy of the statement of poll delivered to him, or that contains a false statement and would be liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and to imprisonment for life.”
Another responsibility of the CEO is to prepare a final report on the nationwide votes which is to be submitted to the Elections Commission to declare the winner of the elections. If he fails to do this within the established timeframe or if he falsifies any of the data, he can also be jailed for life and fined as much as $10 million.
Other persons involved in the electoral process can face fines as high as $10 million and can equally be jailed for life if they breach any provisions as outlined in the proposed updated RoPA.
The amendments to the RoPA recommend life imprisonment for any person who fails to deliver to the CEO a true certified copy of a tabulation form or who delivers a tabulation form with falsified information.
The amended law stipulates further that “a person who obstructs an assistant agent or an alternate polling agent in the performance of his functions commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years”.
Accordingly, the draft amendment recommends that person who fails to follow the procedure set out in the new law in ascertaining or to ascertain the total votes cast in a district or sub-district for each list of candidates commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and imprisonment for life.
Additionally, it notes that any person who fails to deliver to the returning officer of district Region Four a true certified copy of the sub-district tabulation form or who delivers the sub-district tabulation form with falsified information commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and imprisonment for life.
“A person who fails to deliver to the Chief Election Officer a true certified copy of a signed sub-district tabulation form as referred to in subsection (11) of the law or who delivers a tabulation form with falsified information commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and to imprisonment for life.”
The document also states that the presiding officer who refuses to accept from an elector, for consideration of the elector’s identify, a form of identification as authorised under the RoPA, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $5 million and imprisonment for 10 years.
The proposed changes to the law also provide for charges to be laid against a person who allows an applicant to vote who is not eligible to vote.
Additionally, a person who removes a Statement of Poll posted outside the polling place commits an offence and can face jail time and be fined. A person who denies a duly appointed candidate or a counting agent the opportunity to make objections, or obstructs the candidate in the process of making his/her objections, can also be jailed for 10 years.
The proposed law adds “Any person who contravenes any provision of this Act for which a penalty is not provided is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten million dollars and to imprisonment for life.”
Meanwhile, in a statement to the media, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, explained that the objective of the amendments is to examine the process from registration to the declaration of the results, “so that every stage of the process is unambiguous and transparent.”
“This significant step in the electoral reform process is necessary to ensure Local Government and General and Regional elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner,” Teixeira posited.

 

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