Motions against GECOM trio amended to cater for termination of contracts: Motions for the dismissal of three key GECOM employees have now been amended to allow for the termination of their contracts. Last Tuesday’s meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was adjourned without a decision on the nearly two-month-old motions for dismissal tabled against Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers and District Four Returning Officer Clarimont Mingo. The meeting ended after two government-nominated commissioners Sase Gunraj and Manoj Narayan had to leave to participate in a meeting of the CARICOM Elections observer mission to St Lucia. Their absence meant there was no longer a quorum. The motions, first tabled on June 1, have however been amended to allow for a termination of contracts in lieu of dismissal. “Based on the terms of the contracts which we were able to see last week we have orally moved amendments to offer termination as an alternative to dismissal. So the Commission can terminate the contract and pay in lieu of notice,” governmentnominated com-mission Bibi Shadick told Stabroek News. Opposition-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander, however, contends that the amendments are a means to avoid the issues he had previously raised. “They are backing off…they probably can’t confront my issues about a fair hearing and all that so they are attempting to go into the normal termination arrangement,” he shared.