The case involving former Chief Election Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield; former Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers; and former Region Four Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo, among others, accused of electoral fraud, has been adjourned until May 29. This delay comes as the High Court continues to address constitutional issues raised in the lower court.
In yesterday’s session at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Leron Daly, defence attorney, Nigel Hughes, informed the court that the Constitutional matter regarding “fair hearing,” is still under consideration by the High Court.
Lowenfield and Myers have filed constitutional proceedings, seeking declarations that Section 140(2) of the Representation of the People’s Act is unconstitutional. These proceedings are currently engaging the attention of the Chief Justice.
“The Chief Justice has put the constitutional matter down for the 13th May 2024 for further arguments. The court then adjourned the matter to the 29th May 2024 for further report on the High Court proceedings.”
In an earlier hearing, Hughes had raised concerns about the fairness of the proceedings, citing Section 140:02 of the Representation of the People’s Act, which prohibits the disclosure of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) meeting minutes as unconstitutional. He seeks access to these minutes to demonstrate that the actions of Lowenfield, Myers, and other election officials were in accordance with GECOM decisions.
Hughes argued that without these documents, the defence would be unable to question GECOM Chairman Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, and Commissioners Sase Gunraj and Robeson Benn about decisions made at the Commission level.
As a result, the magistrate cannot proceed with the hearing while these proceedings are pending.
