Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 30, 2022 News
…Article 13 writes diplomatic community to lend support
By Zena Henry
Kaieteur News – Calls have not stopped for a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the conduct of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to explain the atrocities committed during the March 2020 Regional and General Polls that has so far caused five persons to face the courts.
Two years after the contentious election, there seems to be no move by GECOM to probe the events of the five month long process, nor the government to commission a review into the events, despite President Irfaan Ali making that promise following his ascension to Head of State.
Prominent Article 13 member, Dr. Yog Mahadeo has once again raised his voice in support of the probe into the 2020 matter, and has also called upon the government to do the same by fulfilling its earlier promise to look into the election fiasco. Dr. Mahadeo is going even further however, as he is currently penning letters to the international community for them to add their voices in lobbying the relevant authorities to have the probe conducted. The international community plays extremely important roles during the election process in many countries. These bodies also mount observer missions that overlook the election process; thus lending to the idea of transparency. These missions would provide reports and highlight possible inconsistencies during the process. It was the international community that played a crucial role in the 2020 elections when it insisted on credibly declared results through a transparent tabulation process of the disputed Region 4 votes.
Dr. Mahadeo told the Kaieteur News that his letters to the diplomatic mission would be ready and dispatched within two weeks time. The Article 13 advocate said that there must be a look into the 2020 elections to ascertain how the former GECOM officials were able to allegedly manipulate the system to make false declarations. The ability to manipulate the system “means that there is something wrong with the system,” he told the
newspaper.
Dr. Mahadeo continued that there were allegations made by both sides of the political divide and to just charge some persons, “is simply not enough.” He reminded that some of the inconsistencies included police ranks evacuating the Ashmins Building on High Street where the tabulation process was taking place. “Who gave those orders?” Mahadeo questioned. He said that the international community had to knock on a door to access the GECOM Chairwoman, whose presence became limited at one point of the process. He said a list was later put forward purporting the names of dead persons who reportedly voted at the 2020 elections. “Where did that list come from, who manufactured it?” Mahadeo questioned further. Former Attorney General Basil Williams and former Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, had claimed to have confronted then PPP/C’s ECD agent, Anil Nandlall about handing out ID cards at the Mon Repos Market Tarmac. “All these claims should be looked into. Let these persons bring their evidence,” Dr. Mahadeo lamented. He concluded that GECOM itself is independent and has the power to issue its own probe. He said the body does not need permission to launch a COI into its affairs.
Unless there is a COI into the 2020 occurrence, Dr. Mahadeo said it would be the same election system existing with new actors, this time supporting a different governing party. On government’s apparent reluctance to host the COI, Dr. Mahadeo asked, “What are they afraid of, what do they have to hide?” He said that since a promise was made to shed light on GECOM’s performance, the government must uphold this commitment and remove doubts on whether it too was involved in elections 2020 skullduggery. He reiterated that just charging a few persons is not enough to answer the questions on GECOM’s management and efficiency. He said the role of the entire Commission must be assessed and persons charged if there are more contributors to the 2020 fiasco.
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield, Deputy Chief Election Officer Roxanne Myers and Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo were charged with conspiring to defraud voters at the 2020 elections. They were accused of doing it in favour of the then A Partnership for National unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). Former public Health Minister Volda Lawrence was also charged.
Surprisingly however, it is opposition commissioners at GECOM who seem to be pushing for a probe into the 2020 elections. Commissioners Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman had offered publicly proposal for an internal audit of the 2020 polls as part of their contribution to the proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA). Alexander had told the Kaieteur News that the probe would contribute to possible changes that are needed to make the election system stronger. He said the probe was discussed and agreed to by the Commission, but that action seems to have taken a turn. Alexander said that the response to the probe was that the Commission was too busy with its ongoing registration exercise. Government Commissioner Bibi Shadick did not say whether she supported a 2020 election COI when asked by this newspaper and calls to GECOM chairwoman, Justice Claudette Singh’s phone, have gone unanswered in the last two weeks.
The Opposition Commissioners are proposing however, that GECOM commission the audit to be done by an independent body since the organisation could not investigate itself.
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