Search for new GECOM boss underway… Resigned Chairman among list of eight submitted by Govt. team – Jagdeo’s list of 11 not discussed on day 1, Govt acting in bad faith – Opposition

Jul 09, 2019 News

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The first day of “hammering” out names for a new chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by the Coalition Government and the Opposition started off with the Opposition yesterday insisting that good faith appears to have been thrown out of the window.This was after the Government team proposed a list of eight persons, including the recently resigned Justice (ret’d) James Patterson. There was no discussion on 11 names as proposed by the Opposition Leader.
Patterson, who was unilaterally appointed in 2017 by President David Granger after talks on a new chair went nowhere, resigned two Mondays ago, in keeping with a ruling from the Caribbean Court of Justice, which said that the process was flawed.According to officials, in addition to Patterson, the other names included on the Government list are Kesaundra Alves, a lawyer who is the Chair for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation; businessman and former parliamentarian, Kads Khan; former executive of the People’s National Congress Reform, Stanley Ming; Justices (ret’d) Claudette La Bennett and Stanley Moore; former Solicitor-General, Kim Kyte and Dr. Aubrey Armstrong, an economist.The choice for a new chair would come as Guyana prepares for early elections following a December 21 no confidence vote against the Coalition Government, which was deemed to be carried after four different courts, including the Caribbean Court of Justice, heard it.The chair of GECOM has always been a critical post.
The meeting took place at the Castellani House, Vlissengen Road, with President David Granger represented by Vice President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon.
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo was represented by Gail Teixeira, Anil Nandlall and Juan Edghill.
According to Harmon in a Government statement after, in addition to the list of 11 persons submitted by the Leader of the Opposition, the Head of State has suggested that the eight names be considered in the “hammering out” process.
The two sides will be working to identify six names, the government said.
This, the Director-General said, should be done in the shortest possible time.
“We believe the consensual process contemplated by the CCJ and providing clarity in the Articles in the Constitution, requires us to meet in this way so that we can find a consensus,” he told the media outside Castellani House.
According to the Director-General, the meeting between the two sides is important to all of Guyana “to have a Chairman of the Commission that both sides can find their decisions fair and representing the best interest of the people of Guyana.”
At a post-meeting press conference last Thursday, President Granger iterated that the Leader of the Opposition is free to present the names that have already been submitted on the past three lists, and he has also agreed to confirm that those persons are still willing to have their names forwarded.
The Head of State also clarified that the Constitution of Guyana stipulates the requirements of who is ‘fit and proper’ to be selected for the position of the Chairman of GECOM.However, the Opposition team yesterday during a post-meeting press conference expressed worry about what transpired yesterday.
According to Nandlall, a former Attorney General under the People’s Progressive Party, at yesterday’s meeting they were “confronted” with a list of eight names from the President with Harmon indicating that they had received no presidential instruction to proceed on the list of 11 names from the Opposition side.
Nandlall made it clear that this violates “good faith” and it was the President who said he wanted the issue to be settled in a matter of days.
Nandlall, while stating that he did not “wish to cast aspersions”, pointed out that the nominees for the chair of GECOM, who oversees elections in Guyana, must possess certain qualities – judge-like qualities; be persons who are impartial and must have integrity.
He said that based on the list submitted by the President for consideration, it is clear that a number of the nominees have clear political connections, a demonstration that Government may not be acting in good faith.He said that the Opposition Leader agreed for Government to submit
names, but not in a formal way. Those submissions would have been discussed in a “fluid way”.
According to Teixeira, since Saturday, the Opposition submitted a list of 11 names, after seven persons indicated they had other obligations.The names included environmentalist Annette Arjoon-Martins; B S Roy (retired Justice of Appeal), businessman Gerry Gouveia; Joseph Singh (Retired Major General and former GECOM Chairman), attorney-at-law Kashir Khan; former magistrate Krisnadatt Persaud; Lawrence Lachmansingh; Norman McLean (Retired Major General); Onesi La Fleur, private sector executive Ramesh Dookhoo and retired Puisne Judge William Ramlall.Those who pulled out were attorneys-at-law Nadia Sagar, Sanjeev Datadin, Christopher Ram, Teni Housty and Oneidge Walrond-Allicock, Professor James Rose and activist Ryhaan Shah.
Teixeira, the Chief Parliamentary Whip for PPP, said that yesterday’s developments were unfortunate, with a lot of time wasted.
Nandlall questioned why the eight names were not submitted before in the interest of not wasting time.
The President has said he is awaiting word from GECOM on a date for general elections.
GECOM had told the CCJ that it is conducting house-to-house registration to sanitise a list that had incorrect entries and dead persons and should be finished by December.
However, based on the recent CCJ ruling, the Opposition is insisting it wants to hold elections within three months, as mandated by the Constitution of Guyana.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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