Lowenfield, Mingo, Myers face more electoral fraud charges

Last Updated on Wednesday, 9 June 2021, 8:24 by Denis Chabrol

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers and and the Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo are to be charged with two additional counts of fraud, police said.

Head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Senior Superintendent Wendell Blanhum two “additional charges” of conspiracy to defraud.

The Crime Chief said they would be charged “based on legal advice obtained.” Asked whether the fresh charges were being laid as a result of an examination of the Statements of Poll and Statements of Recount for the March 2020 general and regional elections, he would only say that “this is as a result of legal advice obtained.”

The charges come just 13 days after the High Court ordered the Supreme Court Registrar to photocopy, certify as true the copies of the Statements of Poll and Statements of Recount and provide them to the Police Commissioner and the Director of Public Prosecutions to aid in the investigation and prosecution of charges against a number of officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Already,  Mr. Mingo faces four counts of misconduct in public office; Mr. Lowenfield three counts of misconduct in public office and three counts of forgery. Ms. Myers is accused of twice misconducting herself in public office.

The opposition A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change’s election petitions have been already thrown out by the High Court. The coalition has since appealed one of the decisions.

The People’s Progressive Party-aligned Election Commissioners have since tabled three motions for Mr. Lowenfield, Ms. Mingo and Ms. Myers to be dismissed. The GECOM Chairman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh has given them until June 14 to show cause why they should not be sacked immediately.