Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield has failed to meet the deadline set by Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson Claudette Singh for the submission of a report on the results of the March 2 elections, saying that he needs “clarifications” in order to facilitate a lawful declaration of the results.
By way of a letter on Thursday, Singh asked Lowenfield to submit a report by 2pm today of the “valid votes counted in the National Recount as per the Certificates of Recount.”
However, in a written response, Lowenfield has informed Singh that prior to the preparation and submission of the report, “some clarifications are imperative… to safeguard against any action deemed unilateral.”
Among other things, he says that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) found that the order for the national recount was in conflict with the Constitution and a result could not create a new election regime. “Kindly provide guidance on which results of the Elections of 2 March 2020 could be lawfully declared,” he writes.
He further suggests that Singh’s directive that on the preparation of the report suggests a change in procedures from the historic practice of the submission of the elections report and as a result he also seeks guidance on this point, saying that the laws cited appeared to be dissimilar.
In her letter, seen by Stabroek News, Singh pointed out to Lowenfield that in accordance with Section 18 of the Election Laws Act No 15 of 2000 he is subject to the “direction and control of the Commission”.
She added that in accordance with that section, and pursuant to article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03, the CEO is “hereby requested to prepare and submit [his] report on the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections by 2 pm on 10th July 2020, using the valid votes counted in the National Recount as per Certificates of Recount generated therefrom.”
A previous request was made for Lowenfield to submit a report using the results of the recount, which show that the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) secured 233,336 votes compared to the 217,920 garnered by the incumbent APNU+AFC coalition.
However, instead of complying with this request Lowenfield submitted a report of what he claimed to be “credible and valid” votes. The report invalidated a total of 115,787 electors showing a total of 171,825 votes cast for the APNU+AFC compared to 166,343 for the PPP/C. He said that he had submitted the report in accord with a Court of Appeal ruling which addressed the term “valid” votes.
In response to an article published by Stabroek News which labelled his actions “insubordination” the CEO argued that he is not compelled to follow the directives of the Commission.
“At all times, I have acted in conformity with the laws,” he claimed.
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) disagreed with this contention, noting in their ruling on Wednesday that it was inconsistent with the constitution for the CEO or the Commission to disenfranchise thousands of electors in a seemingly non transparent and arbitrary manner, without the due processes established in Article 163 and the National Assembly Validity of Elections Act.
The Court also ruled that the local appellate court acted outside its ambit when it pronounced on the constitutional meaning of “votes cast” at the March 2nd polls.
