DCEO Roxanne Myers arrested for conspiracy to defraud

Attempts to rig elections

The Guyana Police Force is forging ahead with its investigation into electoral fraud at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and has now taken Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Roxanne Myers into custody.

On Tuesday, after media reports that the police were unable to find her, Myers turned up at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown. She was accompanied by Attorneys-at-Law Nigel Hughes and Ronald Daniels where she was questioned and subsequently taken into custody.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that Myers has been taken into custody on allegations of conspiracy to defraud. According to Blanhum, she remains in Police custody as the investigations are still ongoing.
Thus far, several GECOM officials have been placed before the court on charges relating to electoral fraud.
Efforts to contact Myers’ attorney, Hughes, proved unsuccessful.
Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield made his first court appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on July 24, to answer three private criminal charges regarding conspiracy to commit fraud, misconduct in public office and breach of trust.
The charges were initially filed by citizens, Josh Kanhai and Desmond Morian, accusing Lowenfield of three counts of fraud.
Kanhai, a member of The New Movement party, filed a charge which stated that between March 5 and June 23, 2020, the CEO conspired with person(s) unknown to commit the common law offence of fraud when he submitted his election report dated June 23 to include figures that altered the results of the elections.
Meanwhile, Morian contended that Lowenfield, while performing his duties as CEO of GECOM, ascertained the results of the March 2 elections “knowing the said results to be false, the said wilful misconduct amounting to a breach of the public’s trust in the office which he presides. Morian later filed another private criminal charge, contending that Lowenfield conspired with a person or persons unknown to use Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent figures to prepare a report that was submitted to the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh, back in March.
Lowenfield is also under Police investigation. The Guyana Police Force had said it launched a probe into criminal conduct by Lowenfield and others in relation to the events of the March 2 elections. He is accused of attempting to undermine the will of the people by repeatedly refusing to submit the verified recount results to the GECOM Chair for a declaration. Legal advice was obtained from the DPP and the Force was advised to launch a comprehensive investigation into these allegations in accordance with its mandate.
His trial will begin on October 26.
Returning Officer for District Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Clairmont Mingo has also been charged with five counts of fraud charges, one of which is in association with PNCR Chairwoman, Volda Lawrence.
The particulars of the joint charge, which was filed by PPP/C Executive Charles Ramson Jr, state that Mingo, having been procured by Lawrence on or about March 5 at the Command Centre for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on High and Hadfield Streets, uttered to the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, the election results for Region Four, knowing it to be forged, with intent to defraud the people of Guyana.
The Guyana Elections Commission, despite being barred by an injunction, went ahead and published the Form 24s [which is the election declaration] for all regions on its website. This included the Region Four unverified declaration. On the Form, there is the signature of Mingo and that of Lawrence.
All of the Form 24s that were published by GECOM on its website had GECOM’s stamp with the RO’s signature. However, a close examination of Region Four’s Form shows that Lawrence’s signature was affixed below that of the RO.

Lawrence was placed on $100,000 bail.
Mingo, during his first court appearance, was granted $600,000 bail on four charges of Misconduct in Public Office.
The first two charges against him allege that on March 5, 2020, at High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown, while being a public officer, he wilfully misconducted himself by declaring a result for District Four without ascertaining the total votes cast in favour of each list in the said District Four Regional and General Election. The other two charges allege that he committed the same offences, this time round on March 13, 2020, at the same GECOM High and Cowan Streets, Kingston Head Office, when he wilfully misconducted himself by declaring a result for District Four in the Regional Election of the said March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Mingo inflated the coalition votes by 19,116 votes while deducting 3689 votes from the PPP/C.
Additionally, GECOM staffers, Enrique Livan and Sheffern February, were also slapped with charges of electoral fraud.
The charge read that between March 4 and 5, Livan unlawfully altered the figures while the numbers from the Statements of Poll were being recorded, with intent to defraud the people of Guyana. He was involved in the infamous flash drive incident at the GECOM Command Centre in the Ashmins building at the corner of High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown.
Livan was previously questioned by Police on the evening of March 4, 2020, when the tabulation of votes for District Four at the Office of the Returning Officer was obstructed. Party agents and other observers became suspicious when Livan, after complaining of feeling tired and wanting to conclude the tabulation process, left the room with a flash drive and computer – both of which were being used during the tabulation process.
On the other hand, February was also slapped with two charges of conspiracy to commit fraud. The charges cite that on March 13, 2020, at High and Cowan Streets, with the intent to defraud the public of Guyana, while being a Clerk at GECOM for District Four, she did not use figures from the Statements of Poll, which resulted in a false declaration being made for the General Election. The second charge was in relation to the Regional Elections under the same circumstances.
She was not allowed to plead to the charge and was granted $150,000 bail on each charge, totalling $300,000. (G2)