…says letter misguided, registration exercise will go on

CHIEF Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, has affirmed that house-to-house registration will continue in accordance with the law, ignoring the call by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) for the exercise to be suspended.

On Monday, Lowenfield publically responded to PSC Chairman, Gerald ‘Gerry’ Gouveia, who in a previous letter had come against the CEO for the commencement of the registration activity. The activity is intended to create a fresh Official List of Electors (OLE) which includes youths now eligible and excludes those now dead or non-residents.

However, PSC Head in a letter on July 21, 2019 stated that it was legally advised by GECOM’s Internal Counsel that the Commission has not been legally directed to proceed with the registration activity. Gouveia referred to the exercise as “unlawful” and claimed that the activity cannot be conducted without a GECOM Chairman.

“The Private Sector Commission calls upon GECOM to immediately suspend the house to house registration exercise until a Chairperson of GECOM has been named and can inclusively and respectfully decide the best way forward,” Gouveia stated.
Responding on Monday, Lowenfield expressed his displeasure with Gouveia’s sentiments referring to the missive as “misguided” and an uncalled for attempt to question his professionalism in the execution of his duties.

He pointed the PSC Head, elected to the post just last month, to the recent ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ); the words of GECOM’s own legal officer, Excellence Dazzell and the orders given to the Commission.

A publication in the Official Gazette dated June 11, 2019 shows that an Order was documented for the registration exercise to commence on July 20 and end on October 20, 2019.

The Order was signed by former GECOM Chair, Justice (Rtd) James Patterson whose instruction, Lowenfield informed Gouveia, still stands as valid.

Giving evidence of such, he pointed to legal advice given by Dazzell to him which stated: “In light of the judgement of the Caribbean Court of Justice on 18 June 2019, which stated that the process by which Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission was appointed was flawed, every act done by that Chairman (Justice (Rtd) James Patterson) after 18 June 2019 would be void. However, acts done before 18 June 2019 would be valid since those acts would have been done on the premise that the appointment was bona fide.”
She also indicated that “…since Order 25 of 2019, was signed and gazetted before the Judgment of the CCJ –that is 11 June 2019– it is valid.”

The CEO also reminded the PSC Head that the approval for house-to-house registration was given since February 19, 2019 by a majority vote of the GECOM Commission which spurred preparation activities towards the commencement of same.

Furthermore, he stated that while Gouveia preaches “a clear Constitutional requirement to hold elections within three months” he omits the Constitution’s provision for an extension of such.

This is with regard to the March 2019 dismissal of private criminal charges filed against the former Chairman and three Commissioners for their alleged conspiracy to breach the Constitution which provides for elections to be held within three months of the passage of a no-confidence motion.

“The GECOM Secretariat clearly understands the Constitutional requirements and also the legal premise to operationalise a valid Order. If I am really to understand the basis of your letter that it is unlawful for the Secretariat to proceed with House-to-House Registration in the absence of a Chairman, I take it that I should wait until a Chairman is appointed before I commence the implementation of any preparatory work for the conduct of General and Regional Elections,” Lowenfield stated.

“Therefore, until such time as further directed by a duly constituted Commission, House-to-House Registration will continue.”

Meanwhile, in his letter Gouveia had also claimed that the PSC had asked Lowenfield “several times” for a meeting in relation to the matter but was denied. He questioned the need for a new National Register of Registrants Database (NRRD) when existing NRRD has been “continuously maintained” and called on GECOM to suspend the registration activity.
“GECOM’s present conduct is a complete break from its history of inclusivity and respectful engagement with all the relevant stakeholders. GECOM is failing to meet its duty to communicate, provide facts and justify its actions to the public,” the PSC Chairman stated.
“In the meantime, we call on you, as Chief Elections Officer, to discharge your duty professionally and objectively and provide information to the public to correct misinformation about the voters list and voting process.”

However, Lowenfield rebutted: “It is appalling that in your opening paragraph, you sought to create an impression that I, Keith Lowenfield have been avoiding meetings with the PSC. I have never received any such request for meetings. I have noted that all previous requests for meetings were directed to the Chairman of the Commission. You should produce the evidence of your meeting requests and proof of delivery to my Office.”

He informed that at a May 2, 2019 meeting with political party stakeholders, representative of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) delegation, Zulfikar Mustapha “explicitly stated that they will not be participating in any deliberation on House-to-House Registration”.
Lowenfield said that Mustapha stated that the party was not in agreement with the exercise and “walked out”. “How then can you question my consultative approach and the credibility of the exercise?” the CEO questioned, adding: “It is my firm belief that the PSC should consider the facts on the operationalisation of this exercise and direct any further advocacy to the Commission when properly constituted.”

The house-to-house registration exercise which commenced as planned on July 20, 2019 has been proceeding smoothly with over 20,000 persons being registered over the first weekend.