During this entire Elections saga Justice Claudette Singh, chairman of GECOM, maintained that as a former officer of the court she will respect the orders of the courts and act in accordance with the laws of Guyana. She claimed she holds no brief for any political party. It is now apparent she was not genuine.
Justice Singh’s refusal to provide lagal clarification on her instructions that CEO Keith Lowenfield use recount numbers to compile his report violates all that she promised. This is a partisan posture. It suggests the Chairman has a preferred outcome and she does not want it derailed by the law.
At the moment we have two flawed results. There is the original declarations that contain computational errors. There is the recount figures that is contaminated by fraud, and clearly does not represent the will of the people. It is therefore not for the chairman to make a choice of which results she prefers. She must follow the law, because this is what she swore to do. She is not a vigilante. She must ignore the instructions given by certain diplomats and follow the laws of Guyana.
The PPP knows the recount figures do not constitute a legal path to the formation of a government. This is why Anil Nandalall, before the start of the Recount, demanded the scrapping of the original declarations. This is why the PPP backroom chatter labeled Lowenfield’s request for clarification a trap. This could be a PPP concern, but at no time should the Chairman of GECOM take it into consideration. She has to follow the law and let the chips fall where they may.
In this very elections cycle there were three instances where President David Granger followed the law and obeyed the ruling of the courts. There is the case of Charandass Persaud’s corrupt NCM vote. We all know his vote was illegally induced and the NCM was the fruit of a poisonous tree, but the court ruled it was legal. Despite the apparent injustice, President Granger accepted the ruling and proceeded with preparations for elections. When the CCJ looked at the plain words of our constitution and improperly ruled the appointment of Justice James Paterson as GECOM Chairmen was unconstitutional, President Granger accepted the ruling and proceeded with the appointment of a new chairman. Then the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal ruled the bloated list, inflated by over 200,000 names, could not be cleaned. Despite his knowledge of the PPP intentions to use the flaws in the list to commit electoral fraud, President Granger accepted the ruling.
President Granger acceptance of these rulings, that he no doubt thought were unjust, epitomizes the correct conduct of a constitutional office holder. Constitutional officer holders do not get to choose the laws they like and the court rulings they will respect. They follow the law and obey the courts regardless of their personal feelings. This is what Justice Claudette Singh is required to do.
The Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield, has submitted his report to GECOM Chairman, Justice Claudette Singh. She must now act in accordance with the law. She must accept, as per the CCJ, there is no legal path to the formation of a government using the recount figures. Her duty is to make a declaration based on the CEO report, swear in President Granger, and let the PPP file their election petition. Anything else would be corrupt and illegal.