Is the Guyana Chronicle so desperate?

Jun 15, 2018 Letters

Hello Editor,
I read with alarm the report published by the Guyana Chronicle on June 13, 2018, headlined ‘PPP frets after candidate loses out on GECOM post’.
The report says: “Back in 2016, Persaud was accused of being corrupt. It was alleged that despite having a public relations officer (PRO) at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at the time, Persaud carried out some of that officer’s duties during the last elections.
“Sources within the commission had told the Guyana Chronicle that Persaud took charge of all Civic and Voter Education responsibilities despite their falling within the ambit of the PRO…in 2014, Persaud while appointed as DCEO, wrote and signed documents as the entity’s public relations officer. In documents seen by this publication, Persaud had signed as PRO and DCEO.”
Editor, the fact is that Mr. Persaud was GECOM’s Public Relations Officer. He was appointed the Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) on August 12, 2014. A report in the very Guyana Chronicle, dated August 13, 2014, headlined ‘Vishnu Persaud GECOM’s new DCEO/ DCNR’, makes this fact clear.
At the time of his appointment, the vacancy of Public Relations Officer had not been filled. He acted in the post until someone was appointed.
So obviously, in 2014, there would have been documents released by Mr. Persaud where he either signed as PRO (ag) and DCEO.
Is the Guyana Chronicle so desperate to defend the unilaterally appointed GECOM Chairman, Justice (retired) James Patterson, that it tells blatant lies?
Lies will not distort the facts.
The fact is that Mr. Persaud was the number-one ranked candidate for the post of DCEO, after an evaluation by a four-person panel (two PNCR and two PPP/C-nominated Commissioners). The fact is that the unilaterally appointed GECOM Chairman in using his casting vote to reject the number-one ranked candidate also rejected the principles of meritocracy and fairness, which should guide the hiring process of any institution, more so GECOM.
Regards,
Attiya Baksh

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