This Article was Published on the June 1. 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Claudette\nSingh, GECOM Chair has now confirmed a statement by APNU+AFC\u2019s GECOM\ncommissioner Vincent Alexander reported in the media on Saturday May 30. In\nthat statement, Alexander had said that Singh had written the Chief Immigration\nOfficer to seek confirmation of a list provided by APNU of persons who were out\nof Guyana on elections day but for whom votes were fraudulently cast. PPP\/C\nCommissioner Sase Gunraj had been reported in the same media article as stating\nnot only that GECOM had made no such decision, but that he as an opposition\nCommissioner was not even aware of any correspondence from APNU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As\nthe recount drags on, Singh\u2019s integrity and competence are being called into\nserious question. It is now a matter of public knowledge that Singh had written\nthe Commissioner of Police one week earlier for the very purpose stated by\nAlexander. He knew, but not the opposition Commissioners. The subject matter is\na policy issue for a seven-person Commission not as Singh thinks, a one-person\ndictatorship. From the language and the details in the recitals to Order 60, it\nis clear that its drafting required the knowledge and expertise of someone\nfully conversant with the detailed operational aspects of elections. That\nsomeone is Vincent Alexander. It is hard to say which is correct but this\nmatter reveals that Alexander is either Singh\u2019s confidante or she is his\npoodle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nissue is another example of Singh leading the electoral body like a circus.\nHere is why. APNU collaborated with its illegal MP and Minister of Citizenship\nWinston Felix to obtain from the Immigration Department travel information of\ncertain persons on the Official List of Electors. With the information thus\nobtained, APNU passed the information to its agents in the recount. Then the\ninformation finds its way on the Observation Reports which are then passed to\nthe Chief Election Officer. Confident that the information now forms part of\nthe records of GECOM, election agent Joseph Harmon then writes Singh officially\nwhile issuing threats and dog whistles publicly. To complete the literally\nvicious circle, Singh then writes the Chief Immigration Officer asking him to\nconfirm the information of which he is the source! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawyers\nuse the term \u201cprobative value\u201d often to challenge the quality of legal\nevidence. Auditors use the term \u201cappropriateness\u201d to measure the relevance and\nreliability of audit evidence. Seemingly intent on embarking on an\ninvestigation into whether or not GECOM has carried out its constitutional duty\nClaudette Singh is creating another brand of evidence which will get her into\nthe history books. But she is taking a dangerous path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\nare a few reasons: Investigating any errors, flaws or deficiencies concerning\nthe results of elections is for the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court.\nRelated to that is the well-known principle that one cannot be a judge in one\u2019s\nown cause. As a retired judge Claudette Singh cannot not know that. Or has she\nfallen for Harmon\u2019s dangerous threat about calm? And now that she has evidence\nof questionable value from the Commissioner of Police, will her investigation\ndispense with the right to be heard rule? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singh\nhas ineptly reversed the burden of proof and kowtows to the APNU. So, with the\nauthority or knowledge only of Alexander, she has assumed the onus of proof in\nthat Party\u2019s fake allegations. Would she now call the Commissioner of Police\nand all the GECOM staff and parties agents involved to give evidence and how\nwill she treat with any rebuttals from Harmon\u2019s\/James\u2019 list of persons? And\nfinally, would Singh tell us what standard of proof she will insist on in this\nclandestine inquiry and wonder whether she is aware of the House of Lords case,\nIn Re B (Children) (Fc) Appellate Committee? I ask these questions to show the\nabsurdity of the path that the self-described Iron Lady has secretly and\nillegally chosen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singh is trying her best to stretch this thing out. But as the Addendum to Order 60 acknowledges, GECOM is required to make a \u201cdeclaration of the results on the final credible count of the elections\u201d. There is no room for APNU\u2019s David Hinds\u2019 draw and thankfully, the possibility for realising his call for the destruction of the ballot boxes is fast disappearing. Once the tabulation of the Statements of Recounts is completed, the Mingo\/Lawrence\/Lowenfield declaration for District Four will die a natural death. The day of reckoning is fast approaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will not end well for Claudette Singh\u2019s reputation <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This Article was Published on the June 1. 2020 Claudette Singh, GECOM Chair has now confirmed a statement by APNU+AFC\u2019s GECOM commissioner Vincent Alexander reported in the media on Saturday May 30. In that statement, Alexander had said that Singh had written the Chief Immigration Officer to seek confirmation of a list provided by APNU … <\/p>\n