…violated recount order to offer conclusive findings
See below for full statement from PPP/C on Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield’s report to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) earlier today:
The Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission
(GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, has submitted Matrices for the recount of the 10
Electoral Districts and a Summary of the Observation Reports for each district,
along with required attachments, pursuant to the gazette Order made by
GECOM, under which the national recount of ballots were done.
The relevant portions of the Order reads:
“The matrices for the recount of the ten (10) Electoral Districts shall then be
tabulated by the Chief Election Officer and be submitted in a report,
together with a summary of the observation reports for each District, to the
Commission on or before 13th day of June 2020.”
It is clear from the above that Lowenfield has no power or authority or any
mandate to offer a view, opinion or judgement of any type, either in the
Observation Report or the Matrices to be tabulated. As regards the Observation
Report, his singular duty was to summarize the various Observation Reports
and in respect of the Matrices, his sole duty was to aggregate the totals in the
Matrices.
In a clear and blatant violation of the Order, Lowenfield arrogated unto himself
the role of an investigator, Judge and executioner and made conclusive
findings, in respect of the wild, reckless and baseless allegations made by
APNU+AFC and rendered a judgement on them, concluding that they were
established, without doing any investigations, hearing no one affected and
applying principles only known to himself.
Undoubtedly, in one swipe, Lowenfield has acted ultra vires, in excess of and
without authority, in violation of natural justice, in abrogation of the
separation of powers doctrine, unlawfully, unconstitutionally and the
pronouncements that he has made are certainly null, void and of no effect.
That his pronouncements and tabulations bear a striking resemblance to the
contentions and calculations of the APNU+AFC have not gone unnoticed. He
would make an excellent witness for the APNU+AFC at the trial of an Election
Petition.
Worse yet, Lowenfield has indicted his own elections of which he was the Chief
Elections Officer (CEO) and has in effect, conceded that he has committed
Misfeasance in Public Office, an issue which will be pursued at another time.
In so doing, he has also thrown under the bus thousands of Guyanese, who
have worked diligently in the electoral machinery, all because he wants to
satisfy the agenda of his political masters at Congress Place. Lowenfield has
also rendered the entire Commission complicit in and culpable of spending
approximately $8B of taxpayers’ dollars in holding elections that were not
credible. This is same Lowenfield, who had prepared a Report on Mingo’s
fraudulent declarations and was ready to submit it to the Commission.
It is clear that GECOM is enjoined by the law and the Constitution to ignore
every aspect of Lowenfield’s Report, other than the General Elections Recount
Totals and the Regional Elections Recount Totals. We recall the Chairperson of
GECOM’s public statements, published on the front page of the Guyana
Chronicle on the 3rd day of March 2020 that the elections were free, fair and
credible.
We will keep the nation updated as events unfold.
