See full statement from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) following the termination of employment contracts of the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers and the Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) yesterday:
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has continued to follow keenly the developments at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) since the conclusion of the General and Regional Elections (GRE) 2020.
On June 2, 2021, the GCCI issued a statement expressing that as an organization, the Chamber was pleased with the steps taken at that time to hold recalcitrant officers of the GECOM accountable; this included the Chief Elections Officer, the Deputy Chief Elections Officer, and the Returning Officer
for District 4. As an accredited observer, the Chamber highlighted that it witnessed several acts of obfuscation, open defiance to the instructions of the Commission and the Courts, as well as partial actions during the course of the GRE 2020.
Today, August 12, 2021, it was reported widely in the press that the three recalcitrant officers have been dismissed from the GECOM. The GCCI would like to state that this is a step in the right direction for Guyana. This is based on our first-hand observation of the partisan and unprofessional actions of those officers during GRE which placed Guyana at risk of entering into the league of pariah states.
The Chamber looks forward to an open and transparent hiring process to fill the now vacant positions at the GECOM with technically competent and impartial officers to execute their statutory responsibilities. We would also like to reiterate that these developments represent an opportune time
for us as a nation to undertake the necessary electoral reforms, and underscores the urgency with which they ought to be undertaken. Thus, the GCCI calls on the leadership of Guyana to ensure that the electoral reforms process is undertaken as a matter of highest priority to ensure that there is no risk of the recurrences of GRE 2020.
The GCCI anticipates the electoral reforms process to be one that has the input and involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, to solicit ideas on the strongest sets of reforms possible. The Chamber stands ready, as a partner in national development, to support the electoral reforms process and anticipates this important undertaking to be supported by all citizens of Guyana.
