…Guyana is hurting – PPP GECOM Commissioner
…notice of injunction another APNU/AFC gambit to delay declaration
The much-anticipated final declaration of the results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections has been further delayed after the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was forced to adjourn its meeting that was intended to discuss the final report of the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), who failed to comply with his constitutional duty, in a series of dramatic events on Thursday.
GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh
The CEO, Keith Lowenfield, was instructed by GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh to prepare and submit his report pursuant to Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03. He was given until 13:00h on Thursday to make that submission. However, in a blatant insubordination move, Lowenfield failed to present the report. Rather, he informed the Chair that he was on his way, but failed to turn up two and a half hours later.
This coupled with the fact that the seven-member Elections Commission did not have the required quorum to hold the meeting left the Chair with no other choice than to adjourn the meeting.
According to Article 226 of the Constitution, the quorum for a meeting of the Elections Commission which shall be the Chairman and not less than four members of the Commission – two each, appointed by the President and the Opposition respectively.
Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield
“If at any stage of a duly-summoned meeting, a quorum is not present due to the absence of members without good cause to be determined by the Chairman, then the meeting is to be adjourned for two calendar days. If the meeting was to determine the declaration of the results of the presidency, and there is no quorum, then the meeting shall be adjourned to the next day. If at the adjourned meeting, there is still no quorum, then the members then present, being not less than four members, including the Chairman, shall be deemed to be a quorum and any decision made at any such adjourned meeting shall be valid and binding,” the Constitution states.
Those present at Thursday’s meeting were the Chairman; the three People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Commissioners – Sase Gunraj, Robeson Benn and Bibi Shadick; and only Vincent Alexander of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Commissioners. APNU/AFC-aligned Commissioners Desmond Trotman and Charles Corbin were no-shows and have not provided any plausible reason for their absence.
Alexander told media operatives that he did not know why the other two APNU/AFC Commissioners did not show up for the meeting. Pushed further by the media for an answer about his colleagues’ absence and whether this was another delaying tactic by APNU/AFC, he responded: “It is not my intention to respond to what has become a norm on social media and places… if I would respond to that, then I would be dead.”
Notice of Motion
Lowenfield’s decision to flout his constitutional duties comes on the heels of a mere notice of an application that has been filed in the Court of Appeal. The notice is not an injunction and, therefore, could not have prevented or blocked him from carrying out his duties. Such a notice simply notifies the parties that a case has been filed. Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall argued that the Notice of Motion has no merit and must be rejected by GECOM.
Lowenfield was expected to submit the report pursuant to Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03.
This would have paved the way for the PPP/C to be declared the winner of the 2020 elections held more than three months ago.
Nation bleeding
Meanwhile, PPP/C-nominated Commissioner Shadick upon leaving the adjourned meeting said that Guyanese should not be allowed to wait any longer for credible results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections to be officially declared.
Commissioner Shadick was responding to questions from the media in relation to Lowenfield’s failure to submit his report.
“We will follow the law; the nation can’t be waiting on the likes of Lowenfield,” Shadick fumed.
“This whole country is hurting and bleeding, and the likes of Lowenfield is going to stop this whole thing?” the Commissioner questioned.
Additionally, Commissioner Gunraj, who was also visibly upset, when questioned about what sort of action he would take should the CEO persist in being non-compliant with carrying out his legal responsibility, responded that certain legal options were being mulled at this time.
Several stakeholders have expressed that this latest move is an abuse of the court process and yet another blatant attempt by APNU/AFC to prevent the official declaration of the results which would see the PPP/C forming the next Government.
The Chair had initially adjourned the Commission’s meeting to today at 13:00h in accordance with the quorum provisions, but an hour later GECOM’s spokeswoman, Yolanda Ward, notified the media that the Commission will no longer be meeting at that time as planned owing to the hearing of the Notice of Appeal set for the same time today.
The data generated from the national recount show the PPP/C won the elections with a total of 233,336 votes. This is 15,416 more votes than its main political rival, the caretaker APNU/AFC, which received 217,920 total votes.
