GECOM trio slapped with two more electoral fraud charges

The three high-ranking GECOM officials embroiled in controversy regarding the March 2020 national elections were on Tuesday released on $100,000 bail each after being slapped with two more charges.

Those charged are Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, Region 4 Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, and Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers.

 They appeared before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. They were not required to plea to the charges which alleged that they made false declarations of votes cast at the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Carol Joseph, Volda Lawrence and Clairmont Mingo

 The charges stated that Lowenfield,  Mingo, and Myers between March 2, 2020, and August 2, 2020, at Georgetown, conspired with each other and together with Volda Lawrence, Carol Smith-Joseph, Sherfern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Bobb-Cummings, Michelle Miller, and others to defraud the electors of Guyana by declaring a false account of votes cast for the Regional Elections of March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

 Volda Lawrence is the Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR). Bobb-Cummings and Miller are GECOM clerks, while February is a GECOM Election Officer. Livan is GECOM’s Information Technology Officer and Joseph is an APNU/AFC activist.

 They were also instructed to return to court on September 14.

 A few weeks ago,  Lowenfield and Myers were summoned by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters. They turned up in the company of their Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes. Lowenfield, Mingo, Myers, Lawrence, Smith-Joseph, February, Livian, Miller, and Bobb-Cummings are currently facing other electoral fraud charges. They are all out on cash bail.

Last week, GECOM Chairperson retired Judge Claudette Singh sent Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo on leave with pay until the election body conducts its investigation and makes a final decision on their employment.  The decision to send them home comes amid calls to have them dismissed by the Government which has made it clear that it has no confidence in the trio overlooking another election.