Jagdeo considers legal action to force GECOM’s hand

Mar 08, 2019 News

The Opposition is considering taking legal action, to force the hand of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), to start preparations for General and Regional Elections.
At a press conference, yesterday, at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo said this in response to a question about how he could influence preparations for elections by GECOM, since he believes the A Partner for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, through the President and the coalition-aligned commissioners of GECOM, are deliberately delaying elections.
Jagdeo revealed that President David Granger, in their meeting on Wednesday, said that elections could be held before April 30, the day the Official List of Electors (OLE) will expire.
But the President indicated that he will not set a date for elections because he must first be informed about the readiness of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Granger had explained that setting a date without considering GECOM’s readiness would violate the Commission’s freedom to operate independently, as a Constitutional body. However, Jagdeo said that the President already violated the “balance” at GECOM by unilaterally appointing Chairman James Patterson.
This is what led Jagdeo to believe that “the sole purpose” of the Chairman and three coalition-aligned commissioners has been to delay the elections.
Jagdeo said he informed Granger that GECOM has been saying that the President must set the date.
He stated that Commissioner Vincent Alexander said, “What people don’t seem to understand [is that] it’s not for GECOM to automatically go into preparing for election outside an order from the President; giving a date. The President has to give a date for elections and that is what GECOM has to work with because there are statutory dates leading up to that date.”
Jagdeo said that GECOM, including Granger’s own Commissioner, has said that they need a date from the President, and “[the President] is saying ‘I have to wait on their readiness’ and they would not start preparing to be ready until they get a date from him”.
This back-and-forth between the President and GECOM constitutes delaying tactics, according to the PPP General Secretary.
“Are you, [the President], saying that GECOM, a constitutional body, will now determine what is above the Constitution, and that all the Constitutional imperatives must subject themselves to GECOM’s readiness. What is your role, Mr. President in upholding the Constitution of Guyana?”
He said he pointed out to the President that GECOM must act in compliance with the Constitution because it is a “creature” of the Constitution, and that the Constitution imposes a deadline on when elections should be held.
He explained that there is a pattern of behaviour where the President is “passing the buck to GECOM” when he, himself, has the authority and the responsibility of naming an election date.
Though the Opposition Leader is considering legal action, he is doing so with caution because he doesn’t want such litigation to be used as a delaying tactic by the government.

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Jagdeo considers legal action to force GECOM’s hand

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