The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has adjourned its meeting after Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield failed to honour his constitutional duty to submit the final elections report.
Additionally, the Commission did not have the required quorum.
According to Article 226 of the Constitution, the quorum for a meeting of the 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.
“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. Present at today’s meeting were the Chairman, all three PPP/C Commissioners and only Vincent Alexander as the APNU/AFC Commissioner. Alexander told media operatives that he does not know why the other APNU/AFC Commissioners did not attend.
Lowenfield did not submit his report as directed by the Chairman Justice Claudette Singh after being served with merely a Notice of Motion, which basically notifies the parties that a case has been filed. As it stands, the Court of Appeal has not fixed a date for hearing nor has it granted any injunction.
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 to winner of the 2020 elections held more than three months ago.
Meanwhile, due to a hearing of the Notice of Appeal at 13:30h tomorrow, the Commission will no longer meet at 13:00hrs as planned.
