The game must go on but the rules must be adhered to

Nov 05, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
I beg to differ with the views expressed by Adam Harris with respect to the decision of president Granger to select the 84 years old James Patterson as head of The Guyana Elections Commission. Harris seems intent to just belittle the performance of the previous commissioners rather than deal with issue of the president not finding anyone “fit and proper” in three lists submitted by the opposition leader. I am not going to spend time discussing the merits and demerits of the claims made by Harris with respect to the previous chairmen of the commission. However I must point out to Harris that it is not a matter of Jagdeo taking his “bat and ball” and going home. Yes, Harris, the game must go on but the rules must be adhered to. If not, the fielding side(opposition) must be entitled to review(s) ( to use another cricketing metaphor.). If not, then the result will be compromised and highly questionable. I ask of Harris to stop being a defender of the government and just be realistic. Please call a spade a spade.
On the same issue of Gecom chairmanship, I find Freddie Kissoon did an excellent article on the decision of the president to select Patterson. Kissoon puts forward four points to Prime Minister Nagamootoo, in which he identifies the flaws of the president’s decision. I wish Harris was as thorough as this. Among the points Kissoon made were two excellent ones: The president identified age as a criteria in the identification of public office holders. Yet, as Kissoon pointed out, this criterion was not adhered to by the president in the selection of Patterson. The removal of Justices Cecil Kennard and Prem Persaud due to age comes to mind.
The most important point, in my estimation, that Kissoon makes is the last one where he wonders why Nagamootoo and the AFC by extension, and the wider public, were not consulted in this very important decision- making process, if the president finds the names in the three lists to be not “fit and proper”. The president just made a unilateral decision and that is that. One wonders if the AFC has any voice in decision making of the coalition Government. Are we seeing history repeating itself with Burnham and D’Aguiar? I wonder.
Mahindra Persaud

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