…even as 2011 precedent exists for GECOM to hand over SOPs
As calls continue to mount for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to fulfill their mandate and carry out the tabulation of votes as quickly as possible, the secretariat have said the matter is out of their hands, but they will wait for, and abide by, whatever decisions are made by the court.

GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward, in a statement on Wednesday, said the secretariat acknowledge calls for the commission to act. However, the court cases are currently before High Court Judge Franklyn Holder.
“The Guyana Elections Commission has taken note of calls in the public domain by political parties and other stakeholders for the agency to take certain decisions aimed at ensuring the electoral process ends within the shortest possible time.

Keith Lowenfield
While the anxiety and frustration of the electorate is understandable, the commission is cognizant that the matter is sub-judice, and therefore awaits the outcome of the legal proceedings currently engaging the attention of the court to inform its deliberations and next steps.”
According to the statement, GECOM, as a constitutional agency, must be guided by a legal framework. As such, it must wait for, and comply with, whatever decisions are made by the High Court.
The secretariat admitted in the statement that it might appear as though GECOM is silent, and not acting as it should. However, the secretariat, which is party to the court matter through Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, noted that it currently cannot pronounce on the matter.
According to the GECOM Secretariat, the court case also sets aside or varies “the declaration of the returning officers of the 10 electoral districts, and (prevents them) from substituting or replacing the said declaration of the returning officers until the hearing and determination of the judicial review; the commission cannot pronounce on this matter.”
