Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield today failed to submit the report of the valid votes cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections (GRE) in direct contravention of a directive from GECOM Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh.
Singh had directed Lowenfield to submit a report of valid votes cast based on the results of the recently concluded National Recount by 1 pm today. A meeting of the Elections Commission was also scheduled for that time to receive and deliberate on that report.
However just after 3pm the meeting was adjourned for a lack of quorum and Lowenfield had not made a submission.
GECOM PRO Yolanda Ward in a press statement claimed that the report was not submitted because a “Notice of Motion” was filed in the Court of Appeal and served on the Chairperson and CEO before the 1 pm deadline.
“The Notice restrains the CEO from ‘complying with the directions of Chairperson’ and as a consequence a report was not submitted,” Ward stated. This is however an improbable conclusion as a “Notice of motion” is not a Court Order.
A Court Order or injunction would’ve been required to realize any such result.
Meanwhile the scheduled meeting did not occur since government-nominated Commissioners Desmond Trotman and Charles Corbin were absent. Their absence meant that there was no quorum.
Article 227 of the Constitution as amended by the Constitution (Amendment) Act, No. 2 of 2000 provides for 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.
Speaking with reporters after the adjournment the third government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander said that he was not aware of the reason for his colleagues’ absence.
He also noted that Lowenfield was absent from the meeting.
