Clairmont Mingo (at left) and Keith Lowenfield
August 9, 2020
President Irfaan Ali has announced a planned review of the recently-concluded elections process and to hold anyone who tried to undermine it to account.
“A review of events related to the electoral process over the last five months will begin shortly in order to determine, forensically, exactly what transpired, and to hold accountable any persons who sought to pervert and corrupt the system,” Ali told those gathered at his inauguration yesterday at the National Cultural Centre.
One week ago, five months after the polls and after a series of legal battles, Ali was declared the winner of the presidential elections and subsequently sworn in as the country’s ninth executive president.
The announcement came after Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield submitted the results of the March 2nd general elections using the numbers of a national recount, which was necessitated by attempts to manipulate the count for Region Four in favour of the former APNU+AFC coalition.
Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo was accused on March 5th of presenting fictitious figures on a spreadsheet and five major observer groups had found his tabulation not to be credible, including the CARICOM observer mission. On May 6th, GECOM executed a recount exercise that showed that the PPP/C had won the majority of votes. However, the credibility of the results determined by the recount have been challenged by the APNU+AFC, which has claimed that alleged irregularities that were uncovered compromised the polls. Lowenfield is currently facing private criminal charges which are alleging fraud and misconduct in his handling of the elections results.
Ali charged yesterday that “vigorous attempts” were made over the past five months to destroy the democratic credentials of people and to deny the will of the electorate.
“All of us are painfully aware of the trauma and anguish that our people endured over the past five months,” he said.
According to Ali, everyone has an obligation to ensure that history does not repeat itself. “All of us have an obligation to the nation and to ourselves to ensure that never again should any generation of our people be subjected to such unlawful behaviour,” he added.
In an effort to ensure this is not done, Ali further stated that his government will pursue the necessary reforms so as to strengthen the democracy and make the electoral process more transparent. “In our manifesto we pledged to pursue inclusionary constitutional governance. I intend to see that pledge is implemented. To do so will require certain constitutional reforms which we will be formulated in consultation with the people”, Ali said.
“…..We will enhance parliamentary democracy, support an independent and efficient judiciary and ensure that the rule of law and the constitutional rights of every Guyanese are respected by all,” he added.
Last week, the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce called for a Commission of Inquiry to be conducted into the elections, with its president, Mohammed Raffik contending that the contentious five-month delay in the finalisation of the results saw setbacks to the country’s race relations.
