Update: Chief Elections Officer refuses to submit election results after receiving court documents

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 June 2020, 15:01 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana  Elections Commission’s Chief Elections Officer has refused to submit his report containing results for a possible declaration after receiving filed court documents

GECOM spokeswoman, Yolanda Ward says Lowenfield did not submit his report when he was served with a notice of motion.

Elections Commissioner, Bibi Shadick said the Appeal Court cannot grant injunctions.

A Notice of Motion was filed in the Court of Appeal and served on the Chairperson and Chief Elections Officer.

The Notice was severed on the CEO before 13:00hrs (deadline for submission of report).

The Notice restraints the CEO from ‘complying with the directions of Chairperson’ and as a consequence a report was not submitted.

The Commission will meet as planned. Decisions on the outcome would be communicated,” she said.

Affected parties are now expected to file court papers to challenge the case.

Court of Appeal was today, Thursday, asked to stop the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from declaring  results of the March 2, 2020 general and regional elections because that electoral management body has “failed to determine a final credible count and or the credibility of the result.”

The case was filed in the name of Eslyn David by Attorney-at-Law, Mayo Robertson.

The Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield was Thursday afternoon expected to submit his report to the GECOM Chairman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh for consideration by the seven-member commission as part of the process leading towards the declaration of final results.

David moved to the court in keeping with Guyana’s constitution that  states that the Court of Appeal has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any question as to the validity of an election of a President insofar as that question depends upon the qualification of any person for an election or the interpretation of this  Constitution and any decision of that court under this paragraph shall be final.

David wants the Court of Appeal to order that  there  be  an  interpretation  of  the words “more votes are cast” in Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution of Guyana and restrain the Chief Elections Officer from complying with the Direction of the GECOM Chairman  as set out in a Letter dated the 16^th day of June, 2020,to submit to  GECOM an Elections Report under Article 177 (2) ( b) of the Constitution of Guyana “without the Guyana Elections Commission determining the final credible count and or the credibility of  the General  and  Regional  Elections  held  on the 2^nd day of March, 2020, as required by the Order No. 60 of 2020 and the amended Order of the 29^th day of March, 2020.”

David, the applicant, also wants the Court of Appeal to restrain the Chief Elections Officer from submitting  to  the Guyana Elections Commission an Elections Report under Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution containing votes which are not credible within the meaning of Order No. 60 of 2020.

The woman, who lives at 15 Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown says in her affidavit that “during  the recount,  the  Guyana Elections Commission were  written Letters by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance  For  Change,  Election Agent, Mr. Joseph Harmon in which he pointed out  numerous  discrepancies  and anomalies  which impacted  on the credibility of the Elections.

The GECOM Chairman has already said that any party that disagrees with the result can file an elections petition , and that GECOM is not constitutionally empowered to  annul the elections.