DEAR EDITOR,
With respect to the controversial appointment of Roxanne Myers as Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), I’ve noticed that the defence has shifted its argument to one of academic superiority.
This position – like the earlier one about merit – cannot hold sway, as both candidates received their degrees from institutions that are not top-rated.
In fact, an online search revealed that the UN-mandated University for Peace, which Myers obtained her Master’s Degree from is ranked 3756 by Ranking Web of Universities online (See http://www.webometrics.info/en). The same site ranks the Anglia Ruskin University, which Vishnu Persaud obtained his Master’s at 1178.
This brings me back to the view of Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo who was quoted as saying that the issue at hand has more to do with the absence of fairness in the entire process – a position I agree with.
Mr. Persaud met all the advertised criteria. He has a post graduate degree, qualification in elections management, experience in the management of national elections and much more. He is therefore the more ‘superior’, ‘fit and proper’ candidate. In spite of this, he was sidelined in favour of Myers.
Clearly, this shows that there was no fairness involved in the process, and that persons in spite of their experience and qualifications are being sidestepped. Regards Attiya Baksh