The Chairman of the inquiry into the 2020 general elections has declined to answer a question from the Sunday Stabroek on why the final report did not comment at all on the conduct of the Chair of GECOM, Justice of Appeal (retired) Claudette Singh SC.
On the 30th of June, the Sunday Stabroek contacted the chairman of the probe retired Justice Stanley John and asked why considering the testimony of Singh before the probe and questions about her conduct, the report was completely silent on her even though it strongly singled out a number of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) staffers for being involved in the attempted rigging of the polls.
The Sunday Stabroek via email had also asked Justice John about following up on the recommendations made in the report.
On July 15, Justice John replied as follows: “I have had an opportunity to confer with the other Commissioners. Our report is very comprehensive and addressed all the matters set out in our TOR (terms of reference). It is now left to the Executive to act on such of the recommendations as it considers necessary.
“My appointment having come to an end I do not think it appropriate to say anything more on the matter.“
The other members of the inquiry were Guyana’s retired Chancellor of the Judiciary Carl Singh and former Attorney General, High Court Judge and Acting Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean, Godfrey P. Smith SC.
When Claudette Singh made a surprise appearance before the CoI on December 8, her testimony sparked incredulity. For months prior to her testimony she had been accused of dereliction of duty and turning a blind eye to blatant attempts that were being made to rig the elections.
The GECOM Chair told the inquiry that she locked herself away in a room at a crucial juncture on March 5th 2020 when an illegal declaration was being made by Clairmont Mingo for the crucial Region Four.
Her statements appeared to have left the commissioners incredulous as she was repeatedly asked by them why she hadn’t taken charge of the situation and instituted action against Mingo.
December 8th was the first occasion that Claudette Singh spoke extensively about what had transpired on that day.
The GECOM Chair told the inquiry that during those critical moments she had been “stressed” and “afraid for her life” so instead of taking action, she locked herself in a room.
“…..There were so many things on my mind and I wanted to know what to do, the next step. So, I just couldn’t be bothered by anybody. I went up there (room) just to have a quiet moment,” she told the CoI.
“…I said I will spend some time in a quiet moment up there and just reflect on everything which had happened,” she said while noting “I didn’t want to speak with anyone. I just wanted time because I was not feeling too well. I felt a bit dizzy and I just wanted to be by myself”, she testified.
At this point, the GECOM Chair said she was still “strange” to GECOM and didn’t know who to trust. She had been named as GECOM Chair on July 26, 2019. She said the only person she called on was then APNU+AFC Government Minister, Amna Ally who she described as a “friend” who would often support her. “I called her (Ally) because I was afraid for my life. I thought people were coming to harm me…I knew her, she was a Minister, and she would give me some support. She told me she would be calling someone,” Claudette Singh told the CoI.
Whilst in the room, the GECOM chair told counsel for the Commission, Sophia Chote SC who was leading evidence in the inquiry that she could have heard people saying “We want the Chair! We want the Chair!” This, she said was followed by footsteps and persons subsequently threatening to break the door open. “I panicked. I became very much afraid,” she recalled.
Not only did she isolate herself, Claudette Singh also told the CoI that she was not taking any calls or messages. “I just wanted a quiet moment….People were calling me but I couldn’t talk to anyone. I didn’t feel up to it to talk to anyone,” Singh said.
Deeming her actions “odd”, Commissioner, Justice Smith described it as Singh abandoning her post at a critical juncture during the elections. “To say you couldn’t be bothered seems odd because you are the Chair and you are in the middle of a very serious situation. I simply want to know, at that point did you call other Commissioners and say look, I am feeling stressed, let’s meet together and weather the storm, I am not taking this on, on my own. Did that occur to you or you just preferred to shut yourself away?” Justice Smith asked the GECOM Chair.
She briefly responded that at that time, the Commissioners had left the building.
Commissioner Justice (rtd) Singh asked the GECOM Chair if it occurred to her that some measure had to be adopted there and then to stop Mingo. “By the time we came up there……Mingo had already made his declaration,” she responded.
During the meeting, the GECOM Chair noted that GECOM Commissioner Charles Corbin had already warned her not to interfere with the work of Mingo. “He said I should not interfere with the ROs (Returning Officers) work because the RO has a certain position,” she said.
According to the GECOM Chair, she first learnt of spreadsheets being used instead of Statements of Poll when former Commissioner, Bibi Shadick, who is now deceased had told her that she was going to a meeting with then Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo. “She (Shadick) told me there was some problem with some spreadsheet. Someone was trying to use a spreadsheet and that he wanted to call them off the process,” the GECOM Chair recalled.
Justice Carl Singh further questioned the Chair if she wasn’t curious who the individual was. “Did it occur to you if that was true that’s a complete deviation from an established Commission procedure? Didn’t you want to know who the someone was who was using and doing this?” he asked.
The Chair agreed and said that she waited for Shadick to return to enquire what was happening and she was told that the matter was resolved. Asked further by Justice Carl Singh “did you not worry who the someone was? And what did you do?”
The Chair said “yes I was” and explained that “sometime later” she learnt it was Mingo. Asked what action she took after learning this, the Chair told Justice Carl Singh that she had a conversation with Mingo and even warned him. “…I told Mingo himself…. I told him and I warned him after we had gone to the Chief Justice’s court. I told him when he goes back there, he must use the SoPs and he told me yes,” the GECOM Chair told the CoI.
