Remove Lowenfield, end electoral process – FITUG

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has joined mounting calls for Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield to be removed from his post after he submitted yet another report with fraudulent figures to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

This is despite Lowenfield being specifically directed twice since Thursday by GECOM Chair, (ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh, to submit his elections report using the certified results from the National Recount.
The 33-day recount exercise revealed that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won the March 2 elections with 233,336 votes while the caretaker APNU/AFC coalition secured 217,920 votes – a difference of some 15,416.
However, in his report on Saturday, Lowenfield included the fraudulent figures of embattled Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, which were already proven as heavily inflated in favour of the APNU/AFC, to give the caretaker coalition a win.

The CEO’s actions have been and continue to be widely criticised with increasing calls for his removal. In a statement on Sunday, FITUG posited that Lowenfield’s antics have demonstrated beyond any shadow of a doubt that he cannot be expected to discharge his responsibilities in an impartial and fair manner.

“By his very actions, he has undermined the trust placed in him as he has taken on, inexplicably, a partisan demeanour. Whatever are his motivation/s, they ought not to supersede our democracy and the will of the Guyanese people. It is against this background that, we of the FITUG join the many voices to call for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to act proactively and have Mr Lowenfield, without further delay, removed from his post,” the Federation stated.

According to the Union body, the CEO must no longer have anything to do with the current electoral process, which has been dragged on for more than four months now.
FITUG further noted that Lowenfield’s actions have certainly contributed to the state of affairs the country finds itself in. It noted that he has refused, on more than one occasion, to comply with clear instructions that were communicated to him in writing, and has sought to shield himself by an imagined constitutional cloak.

“This clearly does not exist and he is subordinate to the GECOM and, therefore, is required to comply with every lawful instruction given to him. Our laws are very clear on the consequences of refusal to comply with lawful instructions. Mr Lowenfield as an administrator, for many years, would, undoubtedly, be familiar with these repercussions,” the missive from the Federation detailed.

Moreover, it went on to bemoan the fact that the current electoral process has gone on for far too long and called on GECOM to ensure that there is a declaration based on the recount results.
“…there is no obstacle that prevents the GECOM from taking decisive action and declaring the results in keeping with the results of the National Recount. No other result is acceptable and people of Guyanese deserve nothing less. We urge in the coming hours that a competent and impartial Chief Elections Officer be appointed and prepare the results paving the way for declaration in keeping with the National Recount,” FITUG said in a media release on Sunday.