Surujbally is a failed GECOM Chairman – Robeson Benn

Mar 07, 2017 News

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– says had “refused” to cooperate with commissioners on procurement scandal

A week after former Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally, resigned following a decade and half at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), one of the entity’s commissioners has raised questions about his performance.

In a scathing statement yesterday, Commissioner Robeson Benn, made it clear that the former Chairman seemed not inclined to cooperate with other commissioners when it came to a procurement scandal that was in the media.
“Surujbally has also refused to provide documented information to the commissioners on allegations in the media on financial mismanagement and other irregularities at the institution, but has studiedly made assertions in the media and in an appraisal on the very good performance of the executive in the face of an ongoing audit by the state auditors of GECOM,” Benn, a former Minister of Public Works, charged.
He would be referring to questionable purchases for the 2015 general elections, where hundreds of millions of dollars were used by GECOM to buy radios, stationery, batteries, pliers and a host of other items, without the contracts being advertised. In one case, $100M for High Frequency radios for use in the elections was handed to a Water Street business. The radios were not used.
In other cases, items such as Duracell batteries and pliers were bought at four or five times the price they were being retailed for.
State auditors descended on the entity since last year and have since found some worrying practices. The auditors were supposed to close off their checks and submit their report last month.
Since the story broke last year, no one was sent on leave, and Surujbally, who was supposed to proceed on retirement leave since November, had not been meeting with six other commissioners, three of whom, including Benn, were from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) – the Opposition.

PARTISAN
Surujbally in his farewell engagement as Chairman with the media last week had expressed concerns about the “partisan” composition of GECOM and urged for reforms.
He also said that one of the worst times for GECOM was the discovery of a few fake Statement of Polls (SoPs) which someone had tried to have counted for the 2015 general elections. Those SoPs were not included in the final count, with GECOM saying that it had handed the matter over to police.
Surujbally also indicated that there was empirical data to suggest who slipped those SoPs. However, he declined to name any commissioner, person or political party that played a role.

The former chairman also complained that he was subjected to pressure, including visits by protestors to his Lamaha Gardens home following the 2011 general elections.
According to Benn yesterday, the “recent reports in the media on remarks and statements made by the past Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Dr. Steve Surujbally, on his demitting office, raises questions of concern as to whether he deliberately, or mistakenly, is on a mission of undermining the accepted view of the constitutionally determined composition of the body of which he was chairman for fifteen (15) years. Further, his statements at the press briefing, add to the criticisms of the quality of his stewardship of GECOM.”
Benn noted that Surujbally’s feeling that the commission was partisan, was stated at meetings on some occasions when “he was required to cast his vote when the commission was divided across the table on contentious issues”.
According to the Constitution, GECOM is supposed to have six commissioners, three of which are appointed by the President, acting in his own deliberate judgment, and three appointed by the President acting on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.
“I have several times pointed out to Dr. Surujbally that the Commission was bi-partisan in nature, as a result of the tedious and deliberate formulation of the “Carter Formula” which was one the key adoptions in constitutional reform which allowed for a more democratic constitution and freer and fairer elections in 1992. The resultant makeup of the Commission necessarily took into account the political context of Guyana and the interests of the major national political stakeholders in the constitutional reform process,” the commissioner stressed yesterday.
“Therefore, in my view, Dr. Surujbally’s attacks on commissioners for “partisan” positions or actions in and outside of GECOM are misplaced and, are seemingly following an agenda which is scripted elsewhere adopting the course of which could lead to the bogging down of progress towards holding National Elections in 2020 as constitutionally mandated.”
Benn argued that while commissioners are expected and understood to be reticent, detached, discrete and dispassionate in their engagements, one cannot ascribe mere “partisanship” to the role and every singled-out activity action of commissioners.

IMPROPER?
The commissioner criticized Surujbally’s casting of his determining vote on the question of the Chief Executive Officer, Keith Lowenfield’s application to the courts to pursue the blocking of a hearing of an election petition. This blocking, “does not meet nor allows for the standard of transparency and integrity required of an elections commission in any democracy and brings the electoral body to a new historically low point.
Why should GECOM, through its CEO, stand in the way of the constitutionally mandated resort, which is intended to bring comfort on judicial scrutiny and determination, on the questioning of electoral integrity?”
With regards to Surujbally’s seeming unwillingness to talk about the fake SoPs, Benn said that the question which naturally arises is why the former chairman was sitting on data, empirical or otherwise, which could help solve this deeply troubling puzzle.
“Why should anyone, most of all the Chairman of an Elections Commission, fuel speculations and allow these to run rife with respect to the penetration of the GECOM system by fake statements of poll? Is it not required of Dr. Surujbally to reveal publicly his empirical data to help solve this mystery as an aspect of his stewardship and legacy at GECOM? Is it not within the remit of the Chairman of the Elections Commission to investigate and report fully on this matter? We should all be prepared to let the chips fall where they may in resolution of this crucial issue.”
Benn said that Guyana is still awaiting reports from GECOM on the 2015 National and Regional Elections and on the 2016 Local Government Elections.
“Elections Commissions in jurisdictions with which Dr. Surujbally is familiar have published the reports on their elections, petitions or no petitions, shortly after their elections were concluded. Dr. Surujbally has balked at allowing for the 2015 elections report to be done and provided to the commission, the public, and the national stakeholders.”
Benn also accused Surujbally of being tardy with meetings.
“Monthly and annual reports of GECOM are infrequent and generally of poor usability….as are meetings of the Commission. Oversight of the commission is poor with complaints of some commissioners being “embedded” there while others do not have the same access….this against a backdrop of Surujbally refusing to provide common space and facilitation to commissioners to do research or to meet members of the public.”
The commissioner noted that it is an indictment under Surujbally’s watch that there was a lack of any perceived urgency in modernizing electoral systems by allowing for the adoption of enhanced biometrics, e-registration and e-tabulation as adjunct to the current system. This speaks volumes on the ultimate failure of GECOM under Surujbally, he insisted.
“A failure in stewardship and accountability, due to elitist, obdurate, and opportunistic leadership, has resulted in a corrosive atmosphere and the undermining of tried and proven administrative and professional practice, which has continuing negative impacts and portend a future of enormous risk. We at GECOM cannot continue to fail our country.”

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