-Nandlall says, highlights evidence of misconduct

ATTORNEY-General Anil Nandlall, S.C., has said that former Chief Election Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, acted as a “lone ranger” during the 2020 General and Regional Elections in defiance of directions from both the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the courts.

When Nandlall took to the stand on Thursday as the final witness to appear before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the events surrounding the 2020 elections, he said that the former CEO blatantly made decisions and employed procedures in direct contradiction to the law and the will of GECOM.

On March 14, 2020, he submitted the elections report to the GECOM Chairman on the basis of declarations made by the Returning Officers in the 10 Electoral Districts, in accordance with Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act.

Nandlall told the CoI that those declarations and the elections report were placed in abeyance to pave way for a national recount after allegations of electoral fraud had erupted during the tabulation of results in District Four.

In June 2020, the recount was completed, and it showed a PPP/C victory.

The AG explained that Lowenfield, in his first elections report, stated that he could not determine the credibility of all votes. As such, he invalidated thousands of votes, giving the APNU+AFC a supposed “victory.”

On June 23, 2020, Lowenfield submitted another report which invalidated credible votes which were counted by GECOM returning officers.

In the report, Lowenfield said he was guided by the decision of Esyln David (a private citizen who had challenged the credibility of the recount).

Lowenfield claimed that based on the Court of Appeal decision, he invalidated about 100,000 votes.

This matter was then taken to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which later invalidated Lowenfield’s move to discard votes, and elucidated what constituted a “valid” vote.

Nandlall added that on June 26, 2020, Lowenfield submitted another report with inflated data and claimed that he acted “constitutionally.”

On July 11, 2020, the former CEO submitted another report which contained inaccurate data. At that time the recount was being conducted.

This led to a challenge filed on July 14, 2020, by APNU+AFC, who had approached the courts in an attempt to deter the swearing-in of a PPP/C government.

This application was dismissed and was challenged in the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal later ruled on Jones’ petition and determined that the recount was legitimate and should be used to declare the winner of the elections.

Furthermore, it was highlighted that the CEO’s actions should not stall the declaration any longer as he was not a “lone ranger.”

“… one court … [said] he donned the cap of an investigator, judge and executor all in one and I think the CCJ admonished him that he is not the lone ranger,” Nandlall told the CoI.

Backed by several court rulings, he explained that Lowenfield misconducted himself by breaching the laws and the election commission.

“This was not his first elections. He presided over two previous elections and he got it right,” Nandlall said to the CoI when he was asked whether Lowenfield might have misinterpreted the laws.

“… you have the highest court guiding the CEO telling him that he’s wrong, or forgetting his report, telling him how he should go about preparing his report. And yet the gentleman does otherwise…he uses the term declaration of the returning officers ignoring completely the results…,” the AG said.

The AG’s testimony concluded the public hearing.

Thus far, former Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence; APNU+AFC activist Carol Smith-Joseph; APNU+AFC-appointed commissioner on the Local Government Commission (LGC), Nicola Denise Trotman; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings; former Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield; his Deputy Roxanne Myers, former GECOM District Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo; and GECOM staff members Sheffern February, Denise Babb-Cummings, Carolyn Duncan, Enrique Livan and Michelle Miller, along with Senior Superintendent, Phillip Azore have all opted to remain silent and not testify.

The CoI was provided with details of how some GECOM employees participated in the suspected plot to divert votes to the APNU +AFC instead of safeguarding the electoral system.

Witnesses have testified about the actions of Lowenfield, Myers, Mingo and Livan during the vote count. Some of the GECOM employees are before the court on electoral fraud charges.