‘Shockingly, brazen acts by GECOM trio to obstruct elections process’

Apr 27, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

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Elections COI Report…

…Lowenfield, Myers, Mingo accused of subverting ascertainment of Region 4 votes

Kaieteur News – The Commission of Inquiry into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections has found that there was a  conscious  and  deliberate –even  brazen effort  to  violate  the  provisions  of  section  84(1)  of  the Representation of the Peoples Act by senior officials of the Guyana Elections. And in its report the COI singled out former Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, his then deputy, Roxanne Myers and Returning Office for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo accusing them of principally  responsible for “clear  and  deliberate  attempts  to frustrate,  obstruct  and subvert the ascertainment of votes in [Region Four] notwithstanding that GECOM had specifically decided that the  approved  method  for  the  ascertaining  and  tabulation.”

All three of the former GECOM officers are before the courts on a slew of elections-related fraud charges. They had declined to give evidence at the COI when called upon. The CoI was chaired by Justice of the Appeal (retired) of Turks and Caicos Stanley John and included former Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana, Carl Singh and High Court Judge (Belize) and former Justice of Appeal (ag) in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Godfrey P. Smith.

According to its finding, the COI said the identified GECOM officials “abandoned  all  need  for  neutrality and impartiality and demonstrated a bias for a competing political  party  and,  in  the  course  of  events  over  those days, showed an open connection with that party and, by their efforts, sought a desired result for that party.”

The report states that despite GECOM had specifically decided that the  approved  method  for  the  ascertaining  and  tabulation of votes cast for the respective competing political parties was  to  be  by  the  comparative  examination  of  SOPs,  Lowenfield nevertheless  approved  the  use  of  a  spreadsheet which  turned  out  to  be  a  document,  the  information  on which was substantially inconsistent with that on the SOPs in the possession of party agents.

“The  CEO,  by  his  overall  conduct,  opened  himself  to  the criticism  that  the  spreadsheet  was  introduced  for  ulterior motives  and  not  for  efficiency.  Indeed, the use of the spreadsheet created turmoil, caused major disruptions and slowed the tabulation process.  The CEO knew  or ought to have   known   that  the methodology  approved  by  GECOM  for  the  ascertainment and  tabulation of  votes  was  through  the  use  of SOPs.  He knew or ought to have known that section 84(1) of ROPA specifically  provided  that  the  ascertainment  of  votes  cast for each political party was to be “in accordance with the Statements of Poll” and that by promoting and insisting on the use of a spreadsheet, he was acting contrary to law,” the report highlighted.

It said the then DCEO Roxanne Myers on the 4^th March, 2020 took a decision to limit the number of political party agents and observers for the ascertainment  and tabulation process  at  the Ashmin’s Building, which was a unilateral decision by the DCEO taken as an administrative measure, for no justifiable reason but intended  to  limit  the  number  of  witnesses  to  GECOM’s ascertainment and tabulation procedures. “In  the  absence  of RO  Mingo,  DCEO  Myers  arrogated  unto herself  the  authority  to  continue  the  ascertainment  and tabulation exercise. The  DCEO  appears  to  have  selected  GECOM  staff  to conduct that process and, apparently, unilaterally decided to   continue the   process  for   sub-district   East   Bank Demerara  when  at  the  close  of  tabulation on  the  3^rd March, 2020,  the  Georgetown district  was being examined,” the report documented.

Bomb scare

The report also highlighted the much talked about bomb scare that was reported during the tabulation exercise following the March 2020 vote. “On  a  report  of  a  bomb  being  placed  in  Ashmin’s building,  she (Myers)  told  party  agents,  observers  and  diplomats, “Y’all get out the room. There’s a bomb in the building.” She herself never left the building. It is difficult to accept that when DCEO Myers went into the tabulation room, minutes before the RO gave notice of his  intention  to  make  a  declaration  of  results,  to  herself announce that the tabulation process would soon resume, that she was unaware of the RO’s intention,” the report states. Additionally, the report highlighted that Myers knew  or  ought  to  have  known  that  at  the time  of  the  RO’s  declaration,  the  statutorily  prescribed procedure   and   requirements   of   ascertainment   and tabulation   for electoral district   No.   4   had   not   been completed and that therefore the RO’s declaration was a clear violation of the law. “But the DCEO merely looked on. She said nothing and did nothing. From the totality of the evidence surrounding the RO’s declaration,  there   appears   to   be   such   collusion   and collaboration  between  senior  GECOM  officials  as  to  likely amount to a conspiracy to make what was undoubtedly a premature  and  unlawful  declaration  of  falsified  results which  showed  the  APNU/AFC  party  as  the  winner  of electoral district  No.4.  This  was  the  ultimate  goal  of  the CEO, the DCEO and the RO.”

Declaration by Mingo

The report stated too that Mingo knew   or  ought  to  have   known  that   the ascertainment  and  tabulation  of  the  votes  for electoral district No.4 had not been completed at the time he made his declaration. “The RO (Mingo) knew or ought to have known that, pursuant to the provisions of section  84(1)  of  the  ROPA,  he  was required to ascertain and tabulate the total votes cast for each  competing  political  party  in electoral district  No.4. Further,  he  knew  or  ought  to  have  known  that  the  total votes  cast  in  that  district  had  not  been  ascertained and tabulated  by  him  and  that  he  was  therefore  acting  in violation of the law by making a declaration at the time he did.”

The COI report documented that following  a  decision  of  the chief justice  which  gave clear  directions  that  the  ascertainment  and  tabulation  of the  votes  for electoral district  No.  4  had  to be done through the comparative use of SOPs, Mingo “in complete violation  of  the order  of  the chief justice,  resorted  to  the use  of  a  spreadsheet of numbers to which he  said  had been extracted from SOPs.17.The   RO  offered   no   comfort to party   agents and observers  who  sought  to  question him  on  the integrity of the  information on  his spreadsheet.”  “Very  significantly,  he made no response  to  a  request  to  inspect  the  SOPs  he claimed  were  used  in  the  compilation  of  his  broadsheet data.  Indeed,  the  RO  and  his  staff  defiantly  resisted  all efforts   by   party   agents   and   observers   to   scrutinize GECOM’s SOPs.18.On  13^th March, 2020,  the  RO  allowed  himself  to  be influenced  by  APNU/AFC  party  representative,  Ms.  Carol Joseph who   was   conducting   herself   in a   wholly inappropriate  manner  and,  as  a  result,  recanted  on  his earlier  undertaking  to  party  agents  and  observers  to restart  the  ascertainment  and  tabulation  process  in  the interest of transparency,” the COI report added.  According to the report, it took another intervention from the Chief Justice to put a halt to the RO’s use of the spreadsheet. “We construe his exhortation to his staff to “keep calling those numbers” when  he  left  to  attend  before  the Chief Justice,  as  a manifestation  of  his  intention  and  his  desire  to  complete the process with the use of his spreadsheet and secure a declaration of a win for the APNU/AFC party in reliance on the falsified figures on his spreadsheet,” the COI report  concluded.

Lowenfield scrutiny

Additionally, the report  highlighted that Lowenfield had unilaterally  engaged  in  an  exercise  of scrutinising  the  votes  alleged  to  be  invalid  by  the APNU/AFC  and  determined  that  of  the  460,  362  votes cast  for  the  PPP,  275,092  were  not  valid,  thereby disenfranchising  275,092  electors.  “The  effect  of  the CEO’s  unilateral  nullification  of  votes  was  that  the APNU/AFC  ended  up  with  125,010  votes  and  the  PPP, 56, 627 votes. Certainly  after  the  CCJ  judgment  of  8^th July, 2020 which  made  clear  pronouncements  on  his  actions  and the validity   of order   60,   CEO   Lowenfield   willfully, and   perversely   persisted   in   basing   his report  to  GECOM  on  the  ten  declarations  of  the  ROs from the  ten  electoral  districts,  notwithstanding  those declarations had been plainly overtaken by the national recount,  and  notwithstanding  that  the  declaration by Mr.  Mingo  that  had  been  universally  and  resoundingly condemned  by  independent  regional  and  international election observer missions and judicially rejected by the courts of Guyana.”

The COI report stated that the conduct and actions of Lowenfield, in relation to  the  discharge  of  his  statutory  duties  prescribed  by sections 96 and 97 of the ROPA, were a brazen attempt to prevent GECOM declaring the true results of the elections of  2^nd March,2020. “His  conduct  was –to  borrow  the words  of  former  Jamaican  Prime  Minister  Bruce  Golding, Head   of   the   OAS   Observer   Mission   to   Guyana –a transparent attempt to alter the results of an election. As  the chief election officer  of  Guyana,  his  conduct dealt  a  deep,  pernicious  body  blow  to  the  integrity  of Guyana’s  electoral  system  and  cherished   democratic values  and  must  justly  and  forcefully  be  condemned  as the  ultimate  betrayal  of  trust  reposed  in  the  highest election official in the land by the people of Guyana.”

Life blood

Meanwhile, during brief remarks at the handing over ceremony President Ali said: “free and fair elections, as the lifeblood of democracy must be zealously guarded and protected. As such, any circumstance or event which could have led, or led and affected the declaration of the results of the election, had implications for democracy, and for the welfare of the citizens.” “It was thus imperative that there be [an] inquiry into the events that followed the holding of the elections on March 2, 2020,” Dr. Ali expressed. He reminded that the COI was also mandated to make recommendations fit and necessary to permit the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to discharge its statutory functions in an impartial, fair, and compliant manner with the constitution, as well as relevant legislation. The president commended the commissioners for their hard work by efficiently accepting and executing their responsibilities. “To all those who championed this cause in Guyana, throughout the region… to all the professionals who stood tall, remained impartial, and executed the responsibility that is expected of them in holding public office, I say to you, thank you for all the work you have done. “To those who sidestep, sidetrack, in an open way, did not comply with what is expected of them in public office, you not only do yourself harm, and this is looking into the future also. This is something we must all learn from, but you do your country, and our region harm,” President Ali stressed.

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• Chief Elections Officer, Clairmont Mingo, Keith Lowenfield, Returning Office for Region Four, Roxanne Myers’

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