We face a problematic recount because of GECOM Chair’s failure to discharge her responsibility

Dear Editor,

GECOM is about to conduct a recount of the General and Regional Elections held on 2nd March, 2020, which was forced upon our country by the Returning Officer for District 4, Mr. Clairmont Mingo, failing to complete a credible tabulation and verification from the Statements of Poll, as ordered by the Court, for District 4.

The declarations made by Mr. Mingo and accepted by the Chief Election Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield, were seen to be fraudulent and in defiance of the Order of the Court by all of the contesting parties (except APNU+AFC), by all of the Local Observers, by all of the International Observers and by all of the Heads of Missions from the UK, the USA, Canada and the EU, all of whom were present and witnessed the fraud, including me.

The votes had already been counted and declared at the place of poll in every District and publicly posted. The Statements of Poll for every District, except District 4, had been tabulated and verified from the Statements of Poll in those Districts and publicly declared.

Copies of the Statements of Poll of every District are in the possession of the contesting parties and the Chief Election Officer. The results of the elections are already known because the Statements of Poll for District 4 have been added up along with the results officially declared for Districts 1-3 and 5-10 by the contesting parties and the Observers who have possession of all of the Statements of Poll.

All that was necessary to complete the elections was the intervention of the Chairman of GECOM to have the District 4 Statements of Poll credibly tabulated and verified against the Statements of Poll in the possession of the Chief Election Officer. It is glaringly obvious that her refusal to intervene and then later refuse again to stop, not one, but two fraudulent declarations by Mingo, has led the nation into a wholly unnecessary recount.

We are now going into a recount in which a completely compromised Chief Election Officer is in control, other compromised GECOM officers are likely to be involved and using a format imposed by the Chairman using her casting vote which is a prescription for confusion.

We face a recount which provides the opportunity for both of the major contesting parties to cry foul at whatever result is produced. I, for one, will have very little faith in a recount, which should never have had to happen, being credibly concluded. For the sake of our country, I very much hope that I am wrong.

Yours faithfully,

Kit Nascimento