Salesman P

8NEWS SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Salesman charged for killing Atlantic Gardens woman

Dead: Sattie Monica Beekharry

A35-year-old salesman was on Friday hauled before the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court for the murder of 61-year-old Sattie Monica Beekharry.

Rafeek Khan, of Chandra Nagar Street, Prashad Nagar, appeared before Magistrate Marissa Mittleholzer via Skype and was not required to plea to the indictable charge.

The prosecution is contending that on June 1 at

around 15:00h, he murdered Beekharry at her Lot 152 Atlantic Gardens home.

Reports are that neighbours heard a heated argument between Beekharry and Khan after she refused to loan him money. Shortly after, the woman was heard screaming for help.

According to the prosecution’s case, the refusal to loan him more money allegedly angered Khan, who then bludgeoned the woman with a padlock and then slit her throat. Upon hearing the commotion, neighbours summoned the police, who found the woman’s body lying on the floor. The suspect was at the time hiding in the ceiling of the house. This forced officers to use tear gas to extract him.

An autopsy conducted on the woman’s body by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh at the Georgetown Public Hospital

Charged: Rafeek Khan

Corporation Mortuary (GPHC) revealed that the woman died as a result of brain haemorrhage caused by multiple traumas to the head, compounded by numerous fractures of the

He denied the charge, which alleged that between May 15 and 24, 2020, at Georgetown, he stole one white gold and diamond bracelet from Jennelle Blackman. The charge was read by Magistrate Rondell Weever. Charged: Akeem Hodge, also

“Angel” charged for stealing jewellery from employer P opular transgender, 24-year-old Akeem Hodge also called “Angel” was on Friday slapped with a robbery charge when he made his appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The court heard that the defendant would norPolice Station and an invesmally clean the Virtual Complainant’s house, and tigation was launched.

called “Angel”

right-side rib cage.

Magistrate Mittleholzer remanded Khan to prison. The case was transferred to the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court and will continue on June 20, 2020.

As such, the matter was next court appearance on reported to the Alberttown June 25, 2020.

The Prosecutor objected she would usually pay to bail since there are othhim. However, between er pending matters before the aforementioned dates, the court against the defenHodge reportedly removed dant. a diamond and gold braceHodge was remanded to let. prison and will make his

Aroaima man charged with larceny A n unemployed man of Aroaima, Upper Berbice River, was granted bail by Magistrate Wanda Fortune on

Wednesday when he made a virtual appearance at the Kwakwani Magistrate’s Court to answer to the charge of breaking and entering and larceny. Andra Christian, 23, of Maple Town, Aroaima, was arrested by Police in connection

Charged: Andra Christian

with the incident on May 28. He pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared before Magistrate Wanda Fortune and was granted $75,000 bail. The case will continue on July 3, 2020.

Waiting to exhale…

…on elections

Now that all twelve counting stations at the ACCC are assigned to the remaining less-than-200 ballot boxes from the East Coast Demerara, these should be knocked off by tomorrow afternoon. The question, however, is what happens next? Can we expect those recount numbers to be announced by the Commission as the final and official results of the March 2 elections?? Don’t expect to exhale any time soon!!

Even if there isn’t a PNC deus ex machina lurking in the wings, those recount numbers are just another way station to a process that could be extended until “thy kingdom come”! The numbers will first be given to no other than Major (rtd) Keith Lowenfield, CEO of the GECOM Secretariat, for him to compile. Now, don’t forget that the numbers from the first COUNT, when Mingo did his thing over at Ashmin’s on his Reg 4 compilations, have already been compiled by the same Lowenfield…who chose not to make any comments on the Mingoed numbers!! This time, however, he’ll be including all of the wild allegations the PNC agents threw up during the recount process.

And this is where matters will get tricky with this wild card. The Lowenfield numbers and summary of allegations will have to be taken as definitive - just like Mingo’s previous numbers were - and then be considered by the full Commission. With this body split down the middle between the Government and the Opposition, the Commission really now becomes Chairwoman Claudette, who has the casting vote. So how will she proceed?

We don’t need to speculate when she’s already shown her hand. Remember her bold asservation from a week ago: “He who asserts must prove”? If you did, then you’d also remember that, the very next day, she executed a complete somersault when she received a list of migrantvoter “anomalies” from the PNC’s Harmon and proceeded to zip them over to the Commissioner of Police to be checked out.

This he had the Chief Immigration Officer do, and returned the list to Claudette, claiming that from the list of 205 persons, 172 shouldn’t have voted. Bingo!!

What that signals to us is that when Claudette reviews the Lowenfield numbers and caveats, she’ll find a “preponderance of the evidence” to show the election was fatally flawed! This will be hers and the Commission’s “announcement”!! This, of course, is what the PNC had been shooting for ever since Mingo’s sleight of hand was sighted by one and all!! So, what happens next??

It’s anyone’s guess, but the courts - eventually the CCJ - will certainly be brought into the picture.

As the 5-year clock winds down, you’ll have to exhale!!

…or GECOM to expire

The EU Observer Mission just released its report on the March 2 elections and its denouement. No surprise there, since the EU Rep has been pretty candid about what went down at Ashmin’s with the Mingo Manoeuvre. The EU Mission’s summation, however, deserves to be quoted in full, since it’s remarkable that neither the GECOM Chair nor her CEO even alludes to it.

After complimenting the orderly election, the EU Mission noted: “However, the integrity of the entire electoral process was seriously compromised by the nontransparent and non-credible tabulation of results in the largest and decisive Region 4 by senior Guyana Elections Commission officials, acting in blatant violation of the law and High Court orders issued in this regard.”

“Senior GECOM officials” …plural!! And we know who those are, don’t we??

Lowenfield, his deputy Roxanne Myers and Mingo were there stirring up the witches’ brew (cackling and all!) with some employees with laptops and flash drives.

But we shouldn’t forget that the Madam Chairwoman was also there - sequestered in a room.

The EU suggests GECOM must go!!

…on Harmon’s ultimatum

Granger and the PNC types like to boast about the “independence” of GECOM. But then Burnham used to do the same when he had his poodles, Jackman and Bollers, as chairs back in the day.

Hence Harmon’s ultimatum to Claudette!!

NEWS 9 SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Tainted Region 4 count compromised 2020 polls in Guyana – EU EOM

…says senior GECOM officials violated country's electoral laws

Following a largely uncontestThe EU EOM contend that cluding other international observed and transparent tabulation the results declared by the RO are ers, have disputed. of the March 2 votes in nine not credible, and surmised that In fact, even Ambassador Canto, of Guyana’s 10 regions, the elector“GECOM abdicated its constitutionhead of the EU Delegation here in al process was abruptly derailed al duty to take all actions necessary Guyana, said in a recent interview into chaos and confusion amidst obto ensure compliance with the law that it was “impossible to cheat” on struction tactics by election officials and oversee a proper tabulation proelections day, given the processes in in decisive Region Four (Demeraracess.” place at the polling station. Mahaica) – the country’s largest votThe EU EOM was the largest ing district. Tamper mission, having deployed 55 observ

This is according to the European In fact, the ongoing National ers to observe the opening, polling, Union Elections Observation Recount has unearthed proof that counting and tabulation processes Mission (EU EOM) in its final report on Guyana’s contentious elections, held over three months ago and which is yet to produce credible results.

According to the EU EOM, voting and counting were well managed all over the country, as was the tabulation of results in nine of Guyana’s 10 regions. However, the tabulation process was abruptly stalled in Region Four, before being rushed through in a deliberately non-transparent manner.

“…the integrity of the entire electoral process was seriously compromised by the non-transparent and non-credible tabulation of results in the largest and decisive Region 4 by senior GECOM officials acting in blatant violation of the law and High Court orders issued in this regard,” the mission said.

Embattled Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo had declared two sets of contentious results. The first, on March 4, was annulled by the High Court; and the second, on March 13, lacked transparency and blatantly violated the court order. Mingo had heavily inflated the regional votes in favour of the APNU/ AFC Coalition, to give them an overall landslide lead over the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic.

“Among many other oddities suggesting that they have been grossly tampered with, without enough attention given to overall coherence, these results imply that the total number of electors who cast a ballot – valid or invalid – differed by 6,123 between the General and the Regional Elections. This is technically impossible, since electors mark their choice for both elections on a single piece of ballot paper, two parts of which are detached only during the count,” the EU EOM outlined.

According to the EU Mission, throughout the process, both the RO and GECOM staff deployed all possible efforts to make sure no stakeholder would ever be able to independently examine the Statements of Poll to ascertain the results. And following a tabulation process that was rushed through in deliberate opacity, there were consistent efforts to conceal other sources of verification of the declared results: not a single SOP in the possession of the RO, the CEO and APNU+AFC was made available to public scrutiny,” the foreign observation mission stated.

Further, the EOM pointed out that requests for access to SOPs in possession of the two main political parties were answered only by the PPP/C.

The EOM’s final report, which was handed over to GECOM Chairman Justice Claudette Singh on Friday by Head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador Fernando Ponz Canto, covers the period up to the immediate post-election events, since the EU observers were unable to return for the National Recount as a result of Guyana closing its airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, the Observation Mission concluded that, overall, the elections were competitive and contestants could campaign freely, even though the process took place in a deeply polarised environment. It added, too, that legal uncertainty, unregulated political finance, biased state media, and lack of transparency in the administration of elections characterised the pre-election context.

Voting process

Moreover, the EU observers noted that the March 2 voting process was well managed and largely peaceful, allowing voters to exercise their franchise freely.

“Both APNU+AFC and PPP/C agents were present in nearly all polling stations observed by the mission. They seemed generally well prepared and equipped, contributing to the transparency of the process without exerting undue influence on voters. Newer political parties and citizen observers were rarely represented. A large majority of polling station officials and party agents were women,” the mission observed in its report.

This comes on the heels of the Coalition now claiming that votes were cast on March 2 in the name of dead and migrated voters – something which many stakeholders, inin all 10 regions. They visited 201 polling stations and assessed the polling process very positively, with the exception that some procedural safeguards were not consistently applied.

To this end, the mission made 26 recommendations to improve future electoral processes.

These include eight priority recommendations suggesting a review and consolidation of the fragmented election legislation; launching of a consultation process to overhaul the composition and functioning of GECOM; development of effective legislation to regulate political finance; fostering of transparency and accountability in online and offline campaigning; transforming the state-owned media into a genuine public service broadcaster; adopting clear, written procedures for transmission and tabulation of election results; accompanying any declaration of results by simultaneous publication of detailed polling station results and digital copies of all Statements of Poll; and establishing comprehensive election dispute resolution system.