Now that the way is clear for the commencement of a recount of the votes cast on polling day, March 2, a proposal is on the table for the Returning Officer (RO) of Electoral District Number Four (Demerara/Mahaica), Clairmont Mingo, to be removed. This has been confirmed by Sase Gunraj, a Commissioner on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
The Opposition-appointed Commissioner said that apart from the removal of Mingo, a request was made for the removal of personnel who “might have been considered to have led” the Commission to the position that it is in.
One month has already elapsed since citizens cast their votes. The GECOM is yet to conclude the electoral process as the Nation witnessed back-to-back ligation and the eruption of controversies after the next. Violent unrest, harassment of journalists, claims of Russian hackers siding with political players to rig the results, vote-buying, racial slurs, and threat of international sanctions have all characterised these elections.
Mingo has come under harsh criticisms for the results he declared. His figures often did not match the those on the Statements of Poll (SOPs) in the possession of observers and party agents. These discrepancies continued to be flagged until both local and foreign observers condemned the actions of Mingo.
Also, the methodology he used to arrive at the figures was brought into contention. His declaration was deemed null and void by the Chief Justice.
Gunraj did not say who posited such a request. However, a letter from the Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lennox Shuman, was sent to the GECOM Chairperson, Justice (retired) Claudette Singh, requesting that Mingo and Roxanne Myers, the Deputy Chief Elections Office (DCEO) of GECOM take no part in the recount process.
“Considering the public’s and political parties’ interactions or lack thereof with Mr Mingo and Ms Myers, we further recommend that Mr. Mingo and Ms Myers play no part in these recount as their previous actions stand to diminish and undermine the good work and integrity of the Guyana Elections Commission,” Shuman wrote.
The Guyana Standard could not confirm if this letter and the proposal Gunraj spoke of, are one and the same.
But Shuman is not the only one calling for the removal of Mingo. In fact, opposition-aligned lawyer PPP/C- aligned lawyer, Anil Nandlall, this weekend, called for the Mingo’s “immediate” removal.
While these calls are being made, Government-aligned Commissioner, Vincent Alexander said that the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), “has some leverage to determine which staff will be involved in the exercise. So, there is neither an inclusion, necessarily, nor an exclusion, necessarily of ROs”.
