Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield yesterday 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 Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh.
“No report has been received by the Chairman from the CEO and despite us being told he was on his way he has not arrived” Opposition-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj told reporters.
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 on June 18.
In her letter dated June 16 she specified that under Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03 and in keeping with Order No. 60 of 2020 which governed the recount, Lowenfield is to use the matrices for the recount of the 10 Electoral Districts to compile a report showing the number of votes cast for each list of candidates; the number of rejected ballot papers and the number of seats allocated to each list of candidates.
The section directs that the CEO shall prepare a report manually and in electronic form for the benefit of the Commission, which shall be the basis for the Commission to declare and publish the election results.
GECOM Public Relations Officer, 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 Chair-person 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. No such Order was issued rather the matter is set to be considered by the Appeal Court today at 1:30 pm.
It is not clear what action GECOM can take to declare results if Lowenfield does not submit a report.
Gunraj suggested that there are options open to the Commission though he declined to list or explain these options.
“I believe the Commission has a plentitude of powers,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Elections Commission scheduled to receive and deliberate on that report was adjourned just after 3pm for a lack of quorum. Government-nominated Commissioners Desmond Trotman and Charles Corbin were absent.
“Corbin fell ill and Trotman said he was threatened and was trying to get security so he can’t come,” Opposition-nominated Commissioner Bibi Shadick told the media.
Article 227 (5) of the Constitution provides for the quorum for a meeting of the Commission to be the Chairman and not less than four members of the Commission – two of whom have been appointed by the President in his own deliberate judgment and two from among members appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.
In keeping with this provision the meeting was adjourned and rescheduled for today as directed by 227 (5) (i). It was later postponed to accommodate the sitting of the Court of Appeal on the latest case filed.
That subsection directs that (ii) in the case of the declaration of the results of the election of the President, the meeting shall stand adjourned to the following day, at the same time and place and notice of such adjournment shall be given to the absent members; and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present, the members then present, being not less than four including the Chairman, shall be deemed to constitute a quorum and any decision made at that or any such meeting shall be valid in law and binding.”
