— Gunraj says hosting of LGE still possible

AFTER weeks of deliberation and multiple delays, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has voted to terminate the employment contracts of its three statutory officers who have been accused of electoral fraud. Effective August 18, 2021, Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers; and District Four Returning Officer for the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, Clairmont Mingo will no longer be in the employ of GECOM.
The terminations stemmed from the successful passage of three motions piloted by the Commission’s government-nominated Commissioners, Sase Gunraj, Bibi Shadick and Manoj Narayan.
The motions, initially filed in June, called for the GECOM trio to be summarily dismissed; however, as voting on the submissions continued to face consecutive delays, it was amended to also include the termination of contracts of Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo. When the matter was finally put to a vote on Thursday, it received the support of GECOM’s chairperson, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh.

Notably, instead of voicing their usual objections or logging out of the virtual meeting, the commissioners who represent the Opposition A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) chose to abstain from voting. It was only on Tuesday that the Opposition Commissioners refused to have the motions put to a vote.
“As you are aware, this nation has perhaps waited too long for this to happen,” Gunraj told reporters shortly after the Commission met.
GECOM subsequently issued a statement which explained Justice Singh’s decision on the matter. “Although they [Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo] hold public/statutory office, they are not public but rather contractual officers. They have no security of tenure and their respective contracts stipulate the terms by which they are bound,” GECOM said.
It noted too that “These officers exercise the right to enter their respective contracts willingly and voluntarily and were therefore aware of the method of termination provided by the respective contracts.”
Further, the commission said “That it is trite law that not even a court of law can enforce a contract for personal services against an employer terminating the contract of an employee since the proper relief for a breach in an employment contract for personal services lies in damages.”

BENEFITS

In accordance with their employment contracts, Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo will receive payments in lieu of three months’ notice. “Accordingly, the officers will be paid three months’ salary in lieu inclusive of all allowances under their respective contract as well as payment for remaining days of vacation leave (if any),” the Commission indicated.
While the exact settlement figures have not been announced, it had been revealed previously that between January 2020 to March 2021, Lowenfield was paid in excess of $25 million.
The disclosure was made in March by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, as she addressed queries relating to the $1.1 billion allocation for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for this year. Teixeira had told the National Assembly’s Committee of Supply that Lowenfield received some $3.5 million in salaries. This, she noted, was separate and apart from a series of other allowances that amount to millions of dollars more. It was also revealed that, in addition to Lowenfield’s hefty salary, he also received a vacation allowance of $1 million, plus $120,000 for travelling; $360,000 for entertainment; $700,000 in gratuity; and $120,000 for uniform. Added to that, taxpayers also stand Lowenfield’s security expenses which were pegged at some $6 million annually.
It was noted too that Myers benefitted from an annual salary that amounted to $16 million; she too received a number of other allowances including travelling and overtime to the tune of $240,000; entertainment and rent pegged at $1.6 million; gratuity in the sum of $1 million; as well as vacation and uniform allowances that cost the State $865,000 and $120,000, respectively.

REPLACEMENTS

Meanwhile, going forward, Gunraj said that efforts would have to be made to ensure that the key positions are filled, and that it is done in accordance with standard procedures. “The posts would be advertised and persons will be invited to apply [and] they would be interviewed,” the attorney-at-law said.
He added: “For me, it doesn’t matter who fills those positions; my [sole] requirement would be that the persons who fill those positions conduct themselves with dignity and in an ethical manner, and in keeping with the dictates of the law.”
More specifically, Gunraj said that the successors of the GECOM trio would have to carry out their functions without fear or favour, affection or ill will, “which, incidentally, is part of the oath that those officers take, prior to assuming those offices.”

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Nonetheless, even as many Guyanese continue to recover from last year’s six-month-long elections saga, the country is due for the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE). President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, had previously indicated that he would not be setting a date for the elections, once Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo remain in their positions.
Now that the three officers have been removed, Gunraj said that going to the polls “within the statutorily defined time is imminently possible”.
“There are still a few months more to go, and like everything else in life, where there’s a will, there is a way. And, if GECOM is serious about holding elections as contemplated, we can put our shoulders to the wheel and ensure that those vacancies are filled in a timely manner, and that the necessary preparations for the holding of the elections are done,” Gunraj posited.
In reaffirming the possibility of hosting the local authority elections, Gunraj expressed hope that all of his colleagues on the Commission would see the urgent need to have the elections, in order to remain constitutionally compliant.

“Unfortunately, we have seen the tardiness, at times, that characterises the operations of GECOM, but I hope in this instance, we see the need to have this done and get it done quickly,” Gunraj emphasised. He cautioned, however, that in addition to the competing political parties, any date set for LGE would also have to be convenient to the voting public as well.
It has been almost 17 months since Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo have been accused of attempting to thwart the outcome of the elections. Despite being criminally charged on various counts of electoral fraud, they remained at their substantive posts at GECOM.
As it is, Lowenfield is faced with three counts of Misconduct in Public Office, and three counts of Forgery, while Mingo was charged with four counts of Misconduct in Public Office, and Myers with two counts of Misconduct in Public Office. In addition to Lowenfield, Mingo and Myers, Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence; Opposition activist, Carol Joseph; the CEO’s clerks, Michelle Miller and Denise Bob-Cummings; Elections Officer, Shefern February, and Information Technology Officer, Enrique Livan, were also charged.
They are all accused of inflating the results of Region Four, Guyana’s largest voting district, to give the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition a majority win at the March 2, 2020 polls, when in fact the PPP/C had won by 15,000 votes.