The Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday issued summonses for the Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield, Deputy Chief Election Officer Roxanne Myers and Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo to appear before the court on June 29.
The summonses were issued by Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus who presides in Court Three after the three were supposed to appear at the court to face “conspiracy to defraud the electors of Guyana” charges but failed to do so.
The particulars of the new charge brought against the trio states that between March 2, 2020 and August 2, 2020, at Georgetown, they conspired with each other and together with Volda Lawrence, Carol Joseph, Sherfern February, Enrique Livan, Dennis Bobb-Cummings, Michelle Miller, and others, to defraud the electors of Guyana by declaring a false account of votes cast for the Regional Elections of March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.
According to attorney Nigel Hughes, counsel for the three elections officers, his clients arrived at court just before 12 pm and were informed that the matter had already been called and they were recorded to have been absent. He added that the trio was informed of the later date.
Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo have since September, 2020, been called on to defend themselves against a litany of charges related to their actions following the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections (GRE).
The CEO is already facing three charges of misconduct in public office and three counts of forgery while Myers faces two counts of misconduct in public office. Mingo has been individually and jointly charged with forgery and conspiracy to defraud. He was charged along with PNCR Chairman Volda Lawrence with one count of conspiring to commit fraud. Individually he is charged with four counts of misconduct in public office and also jointly charged with APNU+AFC agent Carol Joseph with one count of forgery. He further faces two counts of conspiracy to defraud.
It is alleged that following the March 2 GRE, Mingo and others conspired to rig the results of the Region Four elections in favour of the incumbent APNU+AFC.
The dispute over the Region Four count led to a painstaking 35-day recount scrutinised by CARICOM, the Organisation of American States, and local observers. It also resulted in several protracted legal cases which were eventually adjudicated by the Caribbean Court of Justice. Following all of this, the PPP/C was declared winner of the 2020 elections and Mingo and others placed before the Court.
The three officers however, have so far retained their positions with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). How-ever, last week, the government-nominated members of the Commission submitted motions calling for their immediate dismissal.
In the motions presented by Commissioner Sase Gunraj and seconded by Commissioner Bibi Shadick, Lowenfield is accused of acting in a manner which has caused a loss of public confidence and public trust in the electoral process. While Myers is accused of aiding and abetting Lowenfield’s actions with Mingo being accused of discarding his oath of office and failing to act fairly and impartially or legally in the discharge of his duties.
Additionally they have all been accused of failing, neglecting, and abdicating their functions, duties and responsibility to ensure both compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and the electoral legislative framework and the essential criteria of impartiality, transparency, fairness, and credibility to the operations of the Elections Commission and its Secretariat.
