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Clairmont Mingo (at left) and Keith Lowenfield

          Clairmont Mingo (at left) and Keith Lowenfield

August 9, 2020

Source

President Irfaan Ali has announced a planned review of the recently-concluded elections process and to hold anyone who tried to undermine it to account.

“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,” Ali told those gathered at his inauguration yesterday at the National Cultural Centre.

One week ago, five months after the polls and after a series of legal battles, Ali was declared the winner of the presidential elections and subsequently sworn in as the country’s ninth executive president.

The announcement came after Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield submitted the results of the March 2nd general elections using the numbers of a national recount, which was necessitated by attempts to manipulate the count for Region Four in favour of the former APNU+AFC coalition.

Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo was accused on March 5th of presenting fictitious figures on a spreadsheet and five major observer groups had found his tabulation not to be credible, including the CARICOM observer mission. On May 6th, GECOM executed a recount exercise that showed that the PPP/C had won the majority of votes. However, the credibility of the results determined by the recount have been challenged by the APNU+AFC, which has claimed that alleged irregularities that were uncovered compromised the polls. Lowenfield is currently facing private criminal charges which are alleging fraud and misconduct in his handling of the elections results.

Ali charged yesterday that “vigorous attempts” were made over the past five months to destroy the democratic credentials of people and to deny the will of the electorate.

“All of us are painfully aware of the trauma and anguish that our people endured over the past five months,” he said.

According to Ali, everyone has an obligation to ensure that history does not repeat itself. “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,” he added.

In an effort to ensure this is not done, Ali further stated that his government will pursue the necessary reforms so as to strengthen the democracy and make the electoral process more transparent. “In our manifesto we pledged to pursue inclusionary constitutional governance. I intend to see that pledge is implemented.  To do so will require certain constitutional reforms which we will be formulated in consultation with the people”, Ali said.

“…..We will enhance parliamentary democracy, support an independent and efficient judiciary and ensure that the rule of law and the constitutional rights of every Guyanese are respected by all,” he added.

Last week, the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce called for a Commission of Inquiry to be conducted into the elections, with its president, Mohammed Raffik contending that the contentious five-month delay in the finalisation of the results saw setbacks to the country’s race relations.

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Criminal probe into GECOM’s 2020 election operations also on the cards- Nandlall

FILE PICTURE: PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo and his delegation meeting with the seven-member Guyana Elections Commission, and Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers.

August 8 ,2020

Source

Attorney General Anil Nandlall on Saturday did not rule out a criminal probe into the administrative operations of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) concerning the 2020 general elections, but said other options might include a commission of inquiry or a forensic audit.

He said a “deep probing police investigation” is among the options being considered to move ahead “very shortly” because the country had been subjected to five months of intense political crisis. “This is a matter of national concern. The people of Guyana suffered greatly. The State of Guyana was affected and it is the duty of an elected government to probe into this national tragedy so that the issue can be made public so that the people of Guyana can understand what transpired and more importantly to prepare against a repeat of this horrific tragedy,” he said.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali earlier in the day announced that government would conduct a forensic review to determine exactly what transpired, and to hold accountable any persons who sought to pervert and corrupt the system.

Private Prosecutor, Attorney-at-Law, Glenn Hanoman has already told the Court that three private criminal charges of misconduct in public office, fraud and conspiracy to commit a felony against the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield would eventually be taken over by the Director of Public Prosecutions and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The DPP has not withdrawn those charges against Mr. Lowenfield who is on GYD$450,000 bail but has scrapped those  against the GECOM Chairman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh.

With the opposition A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) already preparing to file an elections petition concerning alleged electoral fraud, irregularities and anomalies that rendered the March 2,  2020 polls unreflective of the will of Guyanese, Mr. Nandlall said that would be one of the factors that would decide the type of probe to be conducted.

“There are certain eventualities I have to await. If they do not materialise then it will cause me to move in a particular direction. If it does, a different option will have to be explored,” he said.

The Attorney General said no decisions of the seven-member commission would be enquired into by a Commission of Inquiry but into the electoral process. “We are going to deal with officers outside of the Commission,” he said.

Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform, Mr. David Granger on Friday restated that the election results were the product of electoral malpractices that would be challenged in a High Court election petition.

This would not be the first probe into an elections  that a PPP administration would be conducting. The first was into the disturbances of the 1992 elections by a one-man commission of now late Senior Counsel B.O. Adams.

Django
@Django posted:

This is interference by the newly elected President.

GECOM is responsible to look into the affairs and mismanagement of the institution.

You are dead wrong. GECOM is not a law onto itself. A probe is warranted and consequences well justified.

Baseman
@Baseman posted:

You are dead wrong. GECOM is not a law onto itself. A probe is warranted and consequences well justified.

Not the President makes the call ,GECOM is an independent institution [ well in true form it's partially]  and can do an in house investigation. They know what happened .This isn't the kabaka days ,the same complained about are coming to pass,it's not only a week.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Prashad posted:

Anyone who tries to rig an election should be jailed and heavily fined.

Rigging didn't stop in 1992 ,all the elections reports states irregularities ,recommendations was given for GECOM to be more independent ,every government just let it slide.

Django
Last edited by Django

The new Sheriff will ensure that all those involved in what took place from March to August will be brought to justice. I didn't expect the PNC filing any petition but they don't have to because this inquiry will uncover everything. More bad news for the PNC.

FM
@Django posted:

Rigging didn't stop in 1992 ,all the elections reports states irregularities ,recommendations was given for GECOM to be more independent ,every government just let it slide.

Not anymore. This new government said it is a results driven government so no more letting things slide.

FM

GECOM is independent in its conduction of the elections but if any laws are broken then the courts can hold those law breakers responsible. The Conduit between the Court and the person(s) breaking those laws is the police which is part of the government.

FM
@Former Member posted:

GECOM is independent in its conduction of the elections but if any laws are broken then the courts can hold those law breakers responsible.

The Conduit between the Court and the person(s) breaking those laws is the police which is part of the government.

When Laws are broken the Police [another institution which is free from political influence ] are called to carry out an investigation ,if found culpable the courts [another independent institution free from political interference ] decides.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

When Laws are broken the Police [another institution which is free from political influence ] are called to carry out an investigation ,if found culpable the courts [another independent institution free from political interference ] decides.

That is what will happen bai. The President expects the police to look into it. Remember not so long ago Granger used to talk about the powers of the President? Well this President has powers too.

FM
@Django posted:

When Laws are broken the Police [another institution which is free from political influence ] are called to carry out an investigation ,if found culpable the courts [another independent institution free from political interference ] decides.

Wow...Google has its limitations!

Baseman
@Former Member posted:

That is what will happen bai. The President expects the police to look into it.

Remember not so long ago Granger used to talk about the powers of the President?

Well this President has powers too.

Where Granger spoke about Presidential Powers ?

Django
@Former Member posted:

That is what will happen bai. The President expects the police to look into it. Remember not so long ago Granger used to talk about the powers of the President? Well this President has powers too.

Typical Ksazma pelting shit and hope it sticks.

As seen in Animal Farm, power corrupts. If it doesn't, then it exposes Leaders who really are.

Mitwah

What can be said about a person who stands in a garage with a number of other persons with one of those persons addressing this person as a friend and this person knowing in his heart that the person addressing him as a friend cannot be trusted and when given a chance to speak after the person who addressed him as a friend never told the person to his face that he is disloyal and betrayed his party and he cannot be trusted.

When you get that golden opportunity to tell a person that they are untrustworthy and cannot be trusted and you would prefer if they don't consider you their friend but you don't it shows that you are either a coward or a hypocrite.

Secondly, when you look as beat up as you do in that video and dress so tasteless, you should really refrain from telling people about their age or looks.

FM
@Former Member posted:

What can be said about a person who stands in a garage with a number of other persons with one of those persons addressing this person as a friend and this person knowing in his heart that the person addressing him as a friend cannot be trusted and when given a chance to speak after the person who addressed him as a friend never told the person to his face that he is disloyal and betrayed his party and he cannot be trusted.

When you get that golden opportunity to tell a person that they are untrustworthy and cannot be trusted and you would prefer if they don't consider you their friend but you don't it shows that you are either a coward or a hypocrite.

Secondly, when you look as beat up as you do in that video and dress so tasteless, you should really refrain from telling people about their age or looks.

Save us from your verbal diarrhea  and prove where Granger spoke about Presidential Powers.

Mitwah
Last edited by Mitwah
@Ramakant-P posted:

Is Nandlall going the same way Ramjattan did? Ramjattan went after PPP's alleged crimes but never complete his investigations.

Nandlall isn't curtailed by his bosses the way Ramjattan was so I doubt it. Nandlall has the level of power Ramjattan will never know.

FM
@Django posted:

Where Granger spoke about Presidential Powers ?

President David Granger on Thursday boasted about his presidential powers to revoke the citizenship of Guyanese dual citizens.

President David Granger

This was done at a dedication ceremony of a public building in honour of the late former Indigenous Member of Parliament, Stephen Campbell, on Thursday. According to Granger, the Constitution of Guyana empowers him to quash the citizenship of any Guyanese who also benefits from citizenship in another country.
“The Constitution empowers the President with the authority to deprive a dual citizen of his or her Guyanese citizenship. It states (at Article 46 (1)): If the President of Guyana is satisfied that any citizen of Guyana has at any time after 25th May 1966, acquired by registration, naturalisation or any other voluntary act (other than by marriage) the citizenship of any other country other than Guyana, the President may by order deprive that person of his or her citizenship.”
According to Granger, while Guyanese citizens enjoy constitutional protections and entitlements, citizenship is not a symbol but rather it is a qualification which ascribes rights, benefits, and entitlements.
“Citizenship entitles every Guyanese to a share in the country’s patrimony, citizenship obligates the State to protect its citizens, both at home and abroad. The protections offered by citizenship are not limited to the country’s territory, nationals are entitled to protections outside of our borders. The Constitution [at Article 31] states: “It is the duty of the State to protect the just rights and interests of citizens resident abroad.” He added that citizenship entitles a citizen to have his or her birth registered which, in turn, can be used to register to vote and to apply for a national identification card and a passport. Proof of nationality allows citizens to access education and to receive social assistance and public pensions and more.
Granger stated that citizenship has become an issue of topical interest, as evident in the ongoing reports and public debates, relating to the presence of foreign nationals in Guyana and the eligibility for qualification to become a member of the National Assembly.
“The Constitution also proscribes certain persons from eligibility as members of the National Assembly. It [at Article 155 (1) (a)] states: No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who a) is, by virtue of his or her act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state…”
He reminded that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), in its judgement of June 18, 2019, in Christopher Ram v The Attorney General, the Leader of the Opposition et al affirmed [at 88]:
“…that a person holding Guyanese nationality is not qualified to be elected a member of the National Assembly if that person is also, voluntarily, a citizen of another State. Accordingly, Guyanese nationals with dual citizenship are not qualified to sit as members of the National Assembly.”
But while the President speaks of his powers to revoke Guyanese citizenship, he himself had a number of dual citizens representing APNU/AFC in Guyana’s Parliament.

Dual citizens
The issue of dual citizenship came to the fore in 2018, when the Government, having been defeated by a No-Confidence Motion, attempted to nullify the motion on the basis that one of its Member of Parliament was a dual citizen and as such, could not have legally been sitting in Parliament.
The matter reached the Caribbean Court of Justice which threw out Government’s arguments and ruled that the No-Confidence Motion (that toppled it on December 21, 2018) was indeed validly passed.
On Nomination Day, the issue again surfaced when a number of dual citizens enlisted their names on political parties’ list of candidates. Those persons had to subsequently relinquish their foreign citizenship before they were eligible to contest.

R
@Ramakant-P posted:

Do you think that the PPP should set the precedence for the investigations of Previous Administration without being seen as vindictive?

It should have been done already. People will always complain about vindictiveness but at some point the vindictiveness being done to the ordinary people has to be given much more focus. The PNC is complaining about vindictiveness now but conveniently forgets how they changed all the locks just five short years ago. While the politicians abuse the law and then complain about vindictiveness the ordinary people have been victimized for over 5 decades. Time that nonsense stops and who vex vex.

FM

Granger did everything he thought of doing including rigging the elections to stay in power but he had one very instrumental element against him. His mentality was stuck in a 1970's 1980's world.

FM
@Django posted:

Not the President makes the call ,GECOM is an independent institution [ well in true form it's partially]  and can do an in house investigation. They know what happened .This isn't the kabaka days ,the same complained about are coming to pass,it's not only a week.

One word: SARU. I did not see you lambasting Granger for doing this. We all want transparency. BRING IT ON!!!

FM

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