As Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh has a pivotal role in ensuring that elections supervised by that body are conducted in a manner that accords with best practices and yields a free, fair and verifiable result.
Yet, in the insidious crisis that has gripped the nation in the aftermath of the General and Regional Elections on March 2nd, the Chair has been invisible to the public even while the rigging of the District Four tabulation was in full swing.
How does Justice Singh account for this? Is she able to bring her full authority to bear on the electoral process? Is she constrained in some manner? Or is it that she is in gross dereliction of her duties?
On March 4th it was clear that a controversy was brewing over the declaration of results for District Four – the last region still to declare and which declaration would determine the winner of the 2020 general elections. A number of impediments to an orderly and efficient tabulation were created under the control of the Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo. These incidents mushroomed into a full-blown standoff on March 5th when the previously unwell Mr Mingo suddenly appeared well enough to advise agents for opposition parties that despite the fact that verification of all Statements of Poll (SoPs) was still to be completed, he would be proceeding with the declaration.
This declaration triggered an uproar in the building housing the District Four office at High and Hadfield Sts – as it should have – as it had been clear to the opposition parties and local and international observers that Mr Mingo was using figures that were fictional. Mr Mingo nevertheless proceeded to make a fraudulent declaration above the din created by the dissenting agents of the various parties. Despite the fact that she was in the building, at no point was the GECOM Chair evident in trying to assert control over the situation and to prevent a fiddled declaration for District Four, a shocking derogation from her responsibilities as Chair of GECOM.
It transpires that the GECOM Chair was holed up in another part of the building on March 5th and evidently not prepared to intercede with the Chief Election Officer – whose own cynical behaviour has already been exposed – to prevent this infamous declaration from being made. Additionally Justice Singh made no attempt to publicly defend or explain her inaction or to assert control over the steadily deteriorating situation. Neither did she say anything about the crude threat issued in that same GECOM building by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Karen Cummings to withdraw the accreditation of international observers.
The Chair’s delinquency continued even after the ruling on March 11th by Chief Justice (ag) George that Mr Mingo’s March 5th declaration was unlawful as it did not conform with the requirements in Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act. Justice Singh brought no influence to bear in ensuring compliance with the law and Mr Mingo was unbelievably able to make a second unlawful declaration of the District Four result on March 13th at 11 pm, this time within the precincts of GECOM’s head office in Kingston. Where was Justice Singh’s input in stopping this illicit declaration which nakedly contravened the ruling of the Chief Justice, which ruling Justice Singh read on March 12th to be better aware of what needed to be done? That Justice Singh failed to stop two clearly illegal and rigged declarations for Region Four calls into question whether she is committed to a free and fair vote and whether she is in control of what is transpiring at GECOM.
Aside from a brief note to the public on March 10th which said nothing of importance, Justice Singh issued a statement on March 14th in which she noted that as Chair she had given an undertaking on March 13th to Chief Justice George during a contempt hearing against Mr Mingo that she (Justice Singh) would facilitate a recounting of the ballots for Region Four. Justice Singh then adverted to the agreement that day between President Granger, Mr Jagdeo and CARICOM for a recount of the votes which she said that she welcomed and gave the assurance that “GECOM will cooperate fully with the process”.
That CARICOM initiative was shockingly undermined by unnecessary delays introduced by GECOM which gave enough time for an APNU+AFC candidate to secure an injunction against the recount.
Justice Singh now has to act in accord with her solemn commitment to Chief Justice George i.e. the ballots for Region Four must be recounted before any certification of the final result of the March 2nd general elections. Such a count must be conducted without the presence of Mr Mingo. He should forthwith be removed from the elections process and an investigation begun of the clear attempts to subvert the electoral process. In the interim, the ballot boxes must be closely guarded and Justice Singh should ensure that security is stepped up.
The Chair and GECOM are fully empowered to take the requisite steps to secure the integrity of the elections under article 162 (1) (b) of the Constitution which says that the Elections Commission “shall issue such instructions and take such action as appear to it necessary or expedient to ensure impartiality, fairness and compliance with the provisions of this Constitution or of any Act of Parliament on the part of persons exercising powers or performing duties connected with or relating to the matters aforesaid.”
Justice Singh must act in accordance with the constitutional powers entrusted to GECOM.
