Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield
September 28 ,2020
Saturday’s detention by police of Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield and the prospect of a new criminal charge are intended to have Lowenfield classified as a “tainted” witness in relation to any testimony he might give before an election petition.
This was the view of his lawyer Nigel Hughes in a statement issued yesterday.
Hughes said that Lowenfield voluntarily attended the Criminal Investigation Department Head office on Saturday upon the invitation of the Police where he was interviewed by officers of the department.
Lowenfield was accompanied by one of his Attorneys at law.
Hughes said that during the course of the interview the investigating officers invited a PPP female party activist and polling agent to confront Lowenfield on her analysis of the elections results.
Hughes said that the rest of the interview consisted of inquiries in relation to matters which are currently before the Court.
“The arrest of Mr. Lowenfield and the institution of new criminal charge by the State are clearly intended to have an impact on any testimony which Mr. Lowenfield may provide in the Election petition cases.
“The unambiguous intention is to have him classified as a tainted witness at the time of any possible testimony in the conduct of the Election Petition cases”, Hughes stated.
He said that Lowenfield continues to assert his innocence and has always been responsive to any investigation conducted by the Guyana Police Force and will remain available to be interviewed in any ongoing investigation.
Lowenfield created concerns that he was actively trying to rig the March 2nd general elections in favour of APNU+AFC when he on June 23rd refused to recognize the recount result which had been overseen by CARICOM. He then proceeded to lop off over 115,000 votes in a bizarre calculation that was intended to give victory to the APNU+AFC.
This manoeuvre by him attracted immediate condemnation from then CARICOM Chair Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley. She said: “… we must ask – on what grounds and by what form of executive fiat does the Chief Election Officer determine that he should invalidate 1 vote, far less over 115 000 votes when the votes were already certified as valid by officers of the Guyana Elections Commission in the presence of the political parties”.
Lowenfield would go on to produce several more mutilated results always intending victory for the APNU+AFC.
He also denied on multiple occasions instructions by GECOM Chair Claudette Singh that he submit only the recount result.
He finally relented on August 1 after months of shenanigans and prevarications.
Lowenfield is already facing fraud and misconduct charges which were filed by private citizens Desmond Morian and Daniel Josh Kanhai over the handling of the results from the March 2nd polls. The Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has since taken over prosecution of these.
It is alleged that between March 5th and June 23rd, 2020, Lowenfield conspired with a person or persons unknown to commit the common law offence of fraud by representing to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) that tables attached to his June 23rd elections report accurately reflected the true results of the elections in order to materially alter the results, with intent to defraud as he knew the tabulation to be false.
Kanhai is listed as the complainant for this charge.
A second charge states that while performing his duty as CEO, Lowenfield willfully misconducted himself by ascertaining results of the elections “knowing the said results to be false,” without lawful excuse or justification.
That charge was brought by Morian.
A third charge, also brought by Morian, alleges that Lowenfield conspired with a person or persons unknown to commit fraud by representing to GECOM that the tables in his March 14th Elections Report reflected the true results of the elections, knowing that the tabulation was false, in order to materially alter the results of the elections.