Latest update March 21st, 2025 5:03 AM
Stalemate over GECOM Chairmanship
Govt, opposition must rise above the differences and agree on a Chairman- Former Speaker
Even as the apparent gridlock over the selection of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) continues, former Speaker of the National Assembly and Attorney-at-law, Ralph Ramkarran believes the time has come for
Former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran
the leaders of the two main political groups to rise above the differences and agree on a Chair of the Elections Commission.
The seat of the GECOM Chairmanship was left vacant with the departure of Dr. Steve Surujbally, last month.
Dr. Surujbally retired from GECOM after fulfilling more than a decade as Chairman.
However there has been a stalemate between Government and Opposition over the selection of a Chair for the body which overlooks the production of National Identification Cards, and manages local and general elections.
At the heart of the matter is interpretation of the Constitution with regards to the qualifications and merits of the candidates. A list of candidates submitted by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, was rejected by President David Granger.
There have been several meetings between members of the government and the opposition but it has since proven futile. The ruling party had indicated that a person eligible to be Chairman of the Elections Commission according to Article 161 (2) shall be a judge or a person who has held office as judge, or a person who has the qualifications to be a judge, or any other fit and proper person. However, the political opposition says this is not so.
The Opposition has argued that the Constitution makes provision for “any fit and proper person” to fill the vacancy; that person does not have to be a judge or qualified as such.
In his recent writings on his blog site Conversation Tree, former Speaker of the National Assembly and Attorney-at- aw, Ralph Ramkarran, outlined that the country’s long history of struggle for electoral democracy.
“We have seen at first hand the devastating impact of manipulated elections on a country’s development and the psyche of a people. As it is, it will take several generations in the future for the suspicions and accusations over elections to disappear. It is not something that Guyana needs ever again,” Ramkarran emphasized.
The former Speaker however noted that in 1990s there were many reforms which brought about free and fair elections in Guyana; two of the most fundamental reforms were an agreed Chair of the Elections Commission and counting of the votes at the place of poll.
“These were, of course, supplemented by many other laws, regulations and practices that were agreed to between the two main political parties and enshrined in the Constitution or in the Representation of the People Act.”
Throughout that period, Ramkarran noted that there were no difficulties with the main political groups in agreeing to a Chair of the Elections Commission. Back then, a constitutional formula of selection, he said was formed.
He pointed out further that the formula has never failed and four GECOM chairs were agreed to under the said method.
But, the lawyer noted that while the formula for selecting a Chair is constitutionally enshrined and at the end of the day must be formally adhered to, it does not preclude the leaders from informally suggesting names and one of those names finding its way on the list.
Ramkarran asserted, “If the stalemate in the appointment of a Chair eventually leads to the unilateral appointment of a Chair of the Elections Commission, all that, so many thousands of people have fought for and for such a long time, will be placed in serious jeopardy. All bets about tolerating elections results, however truculently, will be off.”
The former Speaker further opined that if the situation arises where the President seeks to appoint a Judge, a former Judge or a person qualified to be a Judge, Guyana’s entire future as a democratic polity, albeit with profound challenges, will be at risk.
He therefore stressed that the unwritten rule that fundamental changes to electoral practices since 1992 should not be undertaken without broad consensus, notwithstanding the letter of the law, must not be allowed to fall apart.
“Our leaders have an obligation to rise above the differences and agree on a Chair of the Elections Commission.”
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