Public hearings for the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the controversial March 2020 general elections will commence today and Chairman, Justice (retired) Stanley John stressed that the probe is only interested in the “truth” and “what in fact occurred”.
“We stress that in an inquiry of this nature there is no claimant and defendant, no prosecutor or accused, no pleadings, charges or indictments. This is an inquiry to find out what in fact occurred, why it occurred, who, if anyone is responsible and what can be done to prevent a recurrence,” Justice John said while delivering a statement at the opening of the CoI yesterday morning.
According to Justice John, the aim of the Commissioners is to complete hearings by the end of January 2023 and submit a report to President Irfaan Ali by the end of March, 2023. “Barring any developments that might change this schedule,” he said.
While he deemed the CoI a “serious and heavy” responsibility cast upon their shoulders, Justice John promised that the inquiry will be conducted with “utmost” care but as “expeditiously as possible”.
Justice John, a Trinidadian, is being supported by two other Commissioners: former Attorney General, High Court Judge and Acting Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean, Godfrey P. Smith SC of Belize; and former Chancellor (ag) of the Guyana Judiciary, Carl Singh.
According to Justice John, he and his fellow Commissioners intend to discharge their responsibility “carefully” and with “professionalism, efficiency, thoroughness, fairness, objectivity and impartiality”.
“It is a matter of public knowledge that the tabulation and verification process for declaring the outcome of those elections was mired in intense controversy, unprecedented in the history of Guyana,” Justice John said.
“From any perspective, and by any standard, such an unprecedented state of affairs is serious enough to justify an objective and impartial inquiry into how and why it happened and what can be done to prevent or reduce the chance of any recurrence of those events. This is precisely what we have been tasked to inquire into and to make recommendations on,” he explained.
In making their findings, Justice John noted that the Commissioners will place emphasis on matters that are substantiated by “credible” evidence with “unstinting” regard for the rules of natural justice and fundamental fairness especially as it relates to public inquiries and the rule of law.
“In this regard, we shall ensure that the report of this inquiry is scrupulously fair both in terms of an accurate recording of the events we will be investigating and in terms of any criticism we may make of persons involved in those events,” he said.
He emphasized that the inquiry has no case to prove. “We are aware that much has been said about these events by many people from diverse places and organizations. But it must be borne in mind that this inquiry has no case to prove. It is interested in the truth and in fair conclusions based on the evidence properly analysed,” Justice John noted.
In the interest of transparency, hearings into the CoI will be open to the public and live streamed.
Fifteen witnesses
Though it officially kicked off yesterday, public hearings into the CoI will commence this morning with the first witness taking the stand to give evidence.
Three witnesses are scheduled to appear before the CoI today.
The hearing will commence at 9 am daily and go up to 4 pm with an hour and half lunch break.
Secretary of the CoI, Javed Shadick yesterday told the media that so far there are at least 15 witnesses who are willing to testify.
These witnesses, he said came forward after they were invited to do so via public advertisement published through the local media over the past two weeks.
“We have been successful. There are persons who are willing to come forward and give information,” Shadick said.
For security reasons, he said details about the witnesses will not be disclosed beforehand. “We don’t want anyone to be threatened…Tomorrow (today) at 9 o’clock you will see who they are,” he said.
Evidence during the inquiry will be led by Trinidadian Senior Counsel, Sophia Chote. She will be assisted by local attorneys Natasha Vieira and Keoma Griffith.
With the number of witnesses so far, Shadick said there is “enough” to take the public hearings through a two-week period. “Based on information that has been coming forward, it will take about 3 to 4 hours per witness because of the volume of things that they want to say,” Shadick explained.
It therefore means that the CoI will accommodate two to three witnesses daily. “We have a list of persons…..There are many persons who played a part in the elections. There are observers, there are presiding officers, there are GECOM officials, there is the press…There are persons who, from each one of those categories are willing to come forward,” he added.
Among the witnesses, Shadick said are a lot of “observers”. Invitations were also sent to a number of persons to give evidence in the CoI.
There is also expected to be a list of persons who are likely to be subpoenaed to testify. However, as of now, no individual has been summoned, Shadick said.
“As the Commission goes on, those things will be developed as we go on…. Our first methodology is to invite as much as possible,” he said.
The CoI is being facilitated at the bottom flat of the former Globe Trust building at 92 Middle Street, Georgetown.
Site visits
Following yesterday morning’s opening ceremony, the Commissioners proposed to spend the remainder of the day visiting various venues at which events during the March 2020 general and regional elections unfolded.
“We need to acquaint ourselves with a few other matters so that when we begin tomorrow (today), we can proceed on a daily basis and in a timely fashion,” Justice John said.
Among the sites they visited were the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Arthur Chung Conference Centre where the recount of votes took place and the Ashmins building which was the headquarters for District Four.
When Stabroek News showed up for the opening ceremony yesterday, this newspaper was directed to an area in the room where this reporter was told the media was being accommodated. However, it was later learnt that the “area” is for the public and would be shared with the media.
Asked whether there was a designated space for the media, Shadick responded in the positive and pointed to a room outside of where the CoI is being heard. The majority, if not all the members of the media opted not to utilise this space for various reasons including the fact that it deprived them from adequately capturing what was transpiring.
Coverage from the media room would require members of the media to sit and view the hearing from a monitor displaying the live stream of the hearing.
Shadick yesterday afternoon called a meeting with media to discuss how “better” arrangements can be made for their accommodation.
On September 13, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan administered the oath of office to retired Justice John; Justice Smith SC and retired Justice Singh.
The CoI is a result of a promise by President Ali to investigate the attempt to rig the March 2020 polls in favour of the former APNU+AFC government. Five months after the March 2nd 2020 polls and after a series of legal battles, Ali was finally declared the winner of the presidential elections and subsequently sworn in as the country’s ninth executive president on August 2, 2020.
After taking office, he promised the probe into the elections by an international team. He had also committed his government to pursue the necessary reforms to strengthen democracy and make the electoral process more transparent.
The CoI will pay particular attention to District Four which was the epicentre of attempts to rig the polls. This information was contained in the terms of reference (TORs) released for the CoI.
The Commissioners under the said Act are to inquire into the matters set out by President Ali and include an inquiry into and report upon the relevant circumstances and events leading up to, and the procedures following, the Regional and General Elections held in Guyana on the 2nd day of March 2020. The investigation is not limited to, but includes the counting, ascertainment and tabulation of votes polled and the public declaration of those results by the Returning Officer of Electoral District No. 4 and other election officers, as prescribed by sections 84 to 89 of the Representation of the People Act, Chap. 1.03.
The three Commissioners will also examine what attempts, if any, were made to obstruct, frustrate, subvert and prevent the counting, ascertainment and tabulation of votes polled and a declaration of the true results of Electoral District No. 4 as prescribed by sections 84 to 89 of the Representation of the People Act, Chap. 1:03, and by whom.
