Albert “Bulldog” Cromwell, the independent candidate who has been charged with the unlawful wounding of a member of the Team Benschop for Mayor Campaign, is still eligible to contest the upcoming elections.
Deputy Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud, explaining the position of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom), quoted the Local Government Elections Act, which says at
Section 40(2) that no person shall be qualified to be elected as a councillor, if he is, on the qualifying date…serving a sentence of imprisonment of not less than three months for any offence.
Persaud noted that since Cromwell was at the time of nomination eligible to contest, he will remain eligible until he no longer fits the eligibility criteria.
“This is not a matter for Gecom. The gentleman has been charged with a criminal offence and the courts will adjudicate. Gecom has and will continue to act in compliance with the law,” Persaud said.
Cromwell, who appeared before Magistrate Dylon Bess on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to the charge that on February 15, at Dowding Street, Kitty, Georgetown, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Iqbal Rahim.
Meanwhile, Gecom Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally told Stabroek News that the issue of a code of conduct for candidates in the local government elections “is worthy of consideration.”
Surujbally explained that it will more or less be the same as the code of conduct used for political parties in the 2011 and 2015 general and regional elections.
He noted, however, that any such code will be voluntary and added that the fact that there are more than 100 candidates could make the process of organising the signing of a code of conduct unwieldy.
In the matter of Cromwell, Surujbally maintained that the alleged action is not a code of conduct matter but a “criminal act to be dealt with by the police and judicial system.”
In presenting the case against Cromwell, the police prosecutor said that Rahim, who is a volunteer for Team Benschop, was on a ladder putting up posters and flags at Dowding Street when the man approached him and stopped him from doing so.
The accused allegedly proceeded to pull the ladder, resulting in Rahim falling to the ground and sustaining several injuries.
Cromwell, however, told the court that he did not throw Rahim off the ladder.
Speaking with the press before the matter was called, Rahim said he was unsure of why he was pulled from the ladder. He said he and Cromwell had worked previously for the APNU+AFC coalition and that they were friends.
With no objections to bail from the prosecutor, Magistrate Bess placed Cromwell on $60,000 bail and warned him to stay away from Rahim. The matter will be heard again on March 7.
