Lowenfield, Myers, Mingo made brazen attempts...

consideration to alternative models, possibly reducing or eliminating political party representation and increasing the role of independent members of civil society and professional experts”.

It is unclear why given its terms of reference the Commission of Inquiry did not comment on the conduct of the GECOM Chair, justice retired Claudette Singh on March 5th when the first illegal declaration was made. Singh had been accused of not taking any measures to stop Mingo. Later in the day she was found ensconced in a room which did not have door handles. She has never satisfactorily explained what happened that day and when she testified before the inquiry the commissioners appeared perplexed by her conduct that day.

In a surprise appearance on December 8 last year before the elections inquiry, Singh said she locked herself away in a room at a crucial juncture on March 5th 2020 when the illegal declaration was being made by Mingo.

Deeming her actions “odd”, Commissioner, Justice Smith described it as Singh abandoning her post at a critical juncture during the elections.

“To say you couldn’t be bothered seems odd because you are the Chair and you are in the middle of a very serious situation. I simply want to know, at that point did you call other Commissioners and say look, I am feeling stressed, let’s meet together and weather the storm, I am not taking this on, on my own. Did that occur to you or you just preferred to shut yourself away?” Justice Smith asked Singh.

Singh briefly responded that at that time, the Commissioners had left the building.

Singh said she was eventually escorted out of the building by Senior Superintendent, Phillip Azore.

Witnesses who appeared before the inquiry were: Vishnu Persaud, Edgar Thomas, Jonathan Yearwood, Dr. Josh Kanhai, Lenox Rono’Dall Shuman, Rawle Aaron, Ronald Edward Stuart, Sasenarine Singh, Aneal Giddings, Rosalinda Rasul, Paul Jaisingh, Gerald Gouveia, Charles Ramson, Junior Blair, Elston Baird, Ronald Ali, Sase Gonraj, Bibi Anieshaw Mohamed, Guy Nurse, Alexandra Bowman, Claudette Singh, Leslie Albert James, Cristal Robinson, Maxine Graham, Zulfikar Mustapha and Mohabir Anil Nandlall.

The following witnesses were summoned and either failed to appear or appeared before the commission and invoked their right not to incriminate themselves: Shefern February, Denise Babb-Cummings, Carolyn Duncan, Michelle Miller, Volda Ann Lawrence, Carol Joseph, Dr. Karen Cummings, Keith Lowenfield, Clairmont Mingo, Phillip Azore, Enrique Alexander Livan, Nicola Denise Trotman and Roxanne Myers.