President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced the long-awaited Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the attempted rigging of the March 2nd 2020 general elections and the probe will be headed by retired Trinidad Justice of Appeal Stanley John.
Approaching two years after the inquiry had been promised on August 8th 2020, the announcement by the President will shine the spotlight on blatant acts of rigging such as the reading of fake numbers from Statements of Poll and use of a bedsheet which frustrated the validation process. It took five months before the final result could be declared.
Several key electoral officials – including Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield and District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo are before the court on criminal charges but the trials are yet to get underway.
The other members of the probe team announced yesterday in a statement by the President are former Attorney General, High Court Judge and Acting Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean, Godfrey P. Smith SC; former Chair and Chief Elections Commissioner of India, Dr S. Y. Quraishi; and former Chancellor (Ag), of the Guyana Judiciary, Carl Singh.
To assist the Commission with its work, Dr Nasim Zaidi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India; and Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, former Chairman of the Ghana Elections Commission will serve as resource personnel. Both of these men had been present as advisors during the elections under the auspices of the Commonwealth.
In the coming weeks, the intended Commissioners and resource personnel will review the reports and documentation, set out modalities and commence work, the statement said.
The chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and its commissioners are expected to be key witnesses. GECOM Chair, retired Justice of Appeal Claudette Singh recently ruled that GECOM would not be doing an internal probe of the elections.
In his inauguration address on August 8th, 2020, Ali had stated: “All of us are painfully aware of the trauma and anguish that our people endured over the past five months as vigorous attempts were made to destroy our democratic credentials, and deny the will of the electorate.
“All of us have an obligation to the nation and to ourselves to ensure that never again should any generation of our people be subjected to such unlawful behaviour.
“Therefore, a review of events – related to the electoral process over the last five months – will begin shortly in order to determine, forensically, exactly what transpired, and to hold accountable any persons who sought to pervert and corrupt the system”.
The attempted rigging was aimed at returning the incumbent APNU+AFC to office but this was thwarted by unrelenting pressure from CARICOM, the United States, Britain, Canada, the European Union (EU), the Commonwealth, the Organisation of American States (OAS) and observer teams from the EU and the Carter Center among others.
A painstaking recount of votes at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre which was monitored by CARICOM and the OAS eventually provided the basis for the Guyana Elections Commission to move ahead with the final declaration of the result.
The stalemate saw an extraordinary confrontation between the head of the Commonwealth observer team, the former Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur and then acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Karen Cummings over a perceived threat by her the observers. Arthur passed away several months after.
The Head of the OAS observer mission, former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding famously told an OAS Permanent Council meeting in May of 2020 that he had never before seen such a transparent attempt to alter the result of an election as witnessed in the numbers provided by Mingo.
The biographical summary of each Commissioner as released by the Office of the President follows:
Retired Justice of the Appeal Stanley H.W. John
Retired Justice Stanley John is currently serving as the Non-Resident Justice of Appeal, Turks and Caicos Islands. He presides over criminal and civil appeals from the Supreme Court.
Prior, He served as Temporary High Court Judge of The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in Montserrat from April – July 2021. He also served as Temporary High Court Judge of The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the British Virgin Islands and Temporary High Court Judge of The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in Antigua and Barbuda.
In addition to these, Retired Justice Stanley John was once a Puisne Judge in Trinidad and Tobago from 1994 to 2002 where he presided over criminal trials and headed the Criminal Division of the High Court.
His professional appointments are as follows:
Chairman of The Public Service Appeal Board, Trinidad & Tobago | Mar 2019 – Present
Member of The Ethics Committee Cricket West Indies (CWI), Trinidad & Tobago | 2016 – 2021
Disciplinary Tribunals for Magistrates, Trinidad & Tobago | 1996
Executive Director / Chairman of The Legal Aid and Advisory Authority, Trinidad & Tobago | 1990 – 1993
Godfrey P. Smith
Godfrey Phillip Smith SC has served as Attorney General of Belize, a High Court Judge, and an Acting Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean. Each has a track record of distinguished adjudication while leading major reforms and innovation to achieve efficiency in the business of resolving disputes.
He has also served as Minister of Tourism & National Emergency Management,
Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Attorney General & Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of Belize, and a Member of the House of Representatives.
Currently, the Former Attorney General is Partner at ByronSmith, Arbitrators & Litigation Support Services and Senior Partner, at Marine Parade Chambers, LLP, Attorneys-at-Law.
Dr S.Y. Quraishi
Dr. S.Y. Quraishi holds a bachelor’s degree (Hons) and a master’s degree in History from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. He later gained a PhD from the J M I University, Delhi.
He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1971 and after holding several strategic and key positions, rose to become the 17th Chief Election Commissioner of India, the world’s largest democracy.
Among the numerous posts Dr Quraishi has held were: Chief Election Commissioner of India, July 2010- June 2012, Election Commissioner of India, June 2006- July 2010 and Secretary, Govt. of India Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, 2005-2006. HE is also credited for founding the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management from which more than 75 countries have received training in this institute within five years.
More recently, he was a member of the Board of Advisors of International IDEA (Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance) Stockholm for 9 years (2012 – 2021).
Dr Quraishi was nominated to be a Global Ambassador of Democracy alongside Kofi Annan by International IDEA (Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance) Stockholm in Oct 2018.
Retired Chancellor (ag.) Carl Singh
Retired Chancellor (ag) Carl Singh has held several key positions following his admission to the Bar in 1982. He fulfilled the roles of Magistrate- 1983, Land Court Judge-1988, High Court Judge-1995, and Court of Appeal-2000. In 2001, Retired Chancellor (ag) Carl Singh was appointed Chief Justice, and from 2005 – 2017 he served as acting Chancellor of the Judiciary.
The retired Chancellor (ag) also served as the Chairman of the Advisory Council to the President of Guyana on National Honours from 2005- 2017. From 2017-2019 he served as Professor of Law and head of the Department of Law, University of Guyana.
Retired Chancellor (ag) Carl Singh was awarded 2nd and 3rd Highest National Honours – OR and CCH respectively.
