…says GECOM must declare in accordance with Article 177
…appalled at Lowenfield’s claims
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Saturday said it is appalled that Chief Elections Officer of GECOM, Keith Lowenfield, has submitted a report to the Chairman of the Elections Commission stating that, based on the information furnished from the recount process, it cannot be ascertained that the elections results meet the standard of fair and credible elections.
The PSC, which was one of the local accredited observers at both the actual General and Regional Election on March 2 and again at the recount process, said it is satisfied that both the election process and recount were transparent, “efficiently organized and diligently executed by the staff and management of GECOM.”
According to the PSC, it is satisfied that the recount process has produced an entirely credible tabulation of the results of the General and Regional Elections.
The business representative body noted that Lowenfield, in his summation of anomalies listed in the observer reports, has acted outside of his authority under the law governing his responsibility to the Commission “by submitting an opinion with regards to whether or not “the criteria of impartiality, fairness and compliance with the provisions of the constitution and the ROPA were satisfied or not satisfied.”
The PSC said it cannot avoid pointing out that Lowenfield, in his condemnation of the administration of the entire electoral process by saying that it failed to “meet the standard of fair and credible elections”, has sought to accuse all of the employees of GECOM and, indeed, himself and the Chairman, of gross mismanagement and malfeasance of the electoral process; or, alternatively, that they participated in a conspiracy to commit electoral fraud on a massive scale beyond reasonable belief.
“It is the conclusion of the Private Sector Commission that the certified tabulated matrix produced from all 10 electoral districts from the Recount accurately reflects the total valid votes cast for the General and Regional Elections (of) March 2nd, 2020,” the PSC said.
It added that it has further concluded from its own observations, based on Statements of Poll (SoPs) published at places of poll on Elections Day, that no objections were noticed coming from agents of the contesting political parties. This, it said, is an indication of their satisfaction with the process and its outcome.
“We draw to the Commission’s attention the provisions of Article 173 of the Constitution, the country’s supreme law, which provides that only the High Court has jurisdiction to inquire whether an election has been lawfully conducted or whether the result thereof has been, or may have been, affected by any act or omission. So-called anomalies as identified by the Chief Elections Officer are beyond the remit of the High Court, let alone the Chief Elections Officer,” the PSC said.
The PSC therefore called upon GECOM to declare the results of the elections in accordance with Article 177 of the Constitution, and declare the presidential candidate of the Peoples Progressive Party as the elected president.
