PSC calls on Top Cop to probe threats against GECOM Chair

As the online abuse and threats against Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh heightened, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) has called on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to step in and take action against the perpetrators.

In a statement on Friday, the PSC said it has observed the increasingly ugly abuse and threats appearing on Facebook directed at the GECOM Chair as the time approaches for the seven-member Elections Commission to meet and finally declare the results of the General and Regional Elections held over four months ago on March 2.
“These scurrilous and extremely threatening Facebook posts have followed the written directions issued by the Chairman of GECOM to the Chief Elections Officer to submit his Report from the results of the Recount. It is clear, therefore, from where these posts have emanated and that they are a deliberate and criminal attempt to influence the decision of GECOM with regard to the declaration of the results of the elections,” the Private Sector body noted in its missive.

On this note, the PSC called on the Police Commissioner to investigate, pursue and bring an immediate stop to this despicable exploitation of Facebook to carry out criminal acts, which it said clearly amounts to the worst form of cybercrime.
The PSC further noted the condemnation of these attacks by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and called on the other political parties, including the caretaker APNU/AFC, to do the same.
Only on Thursday, the three Opposition Commissioners at GECOM, Sase Gunraj, Bibi Shadick and Robeson Benn, also condemned the scurrilous attacks on the GECOM Chair and called for the perpetrators, including senior members of the coalition, to desist from these vile attacks.

These attacks against Justice Singh started since March as the post-elections events unfolded.
In fact, back in April, she had reported a death threat on her life to the Police Force and subsequently told reporters that there was a bounty on her head since Friday, April 17, 2020.
More recently, however, the attacks have escalated following her decision to discard the initial declarations of the 10 Returning Officers and use the figures emanating from the National Recount for the final declaration of the elections results.
Only on Monday, 27-year-old Ryan Williams of Silver City, Wismar, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), was charged under the Cybercrime Act and placed on $500,000 bail for threatening to kill the GECOM Chair in a Facebook post last week.
The post, which was made under a fake profile, was traced back to the person who made it.
Meanwhile, even more disturbing is a video on social media showing persons conducting a makeshift funeral with a doll which they claim represents the GECOM Chair.
These attacks had prompted United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, to also condemn the acts against Justice Singh.
“I am shocked and appalled at the dangerous statements and actions that I have seen directed at the Chairwoman. Chairwoman Singh is a person of the utmost integrity and a distinguished jurist who has given decades of her life in service to her country. I hope that all Guyanese will speak out on her behalf and allow her to continue her work and bring this electoral process to closure,” Ambassador Lynch had stated.
The GECOM Chair was forced to discard several reports submitted by the CEO, Keith Lowenfield, after he continuously failed to adhere to her directive to use the figures from the recount exercise to compile his report.
In his last report, Lowenfield used the fraudulent figures of embattled Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo, who was found to have heavily inflated votes in favour of the APNU/AFC.
Justice Singh then set aside the declarations from all the 10 ROs and gave the CEO a final chance to submit a correct report using the recount figures. However, before he could have done so, legal proceedings were filed by APNU/AFC supporter Misenga Jones, who was seeking to block GECOM from making a declaration based on the National Recount results.
The certified results of the 33-day exercise show the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) with a landslide victory, having secured 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC obtained 217,920 votes – a difference of some 15,416 votes.