‘Iron Lady’ Claudette Singh takes control of GECOM -says priority is free, fair and transparent elections -vows to act according to law

Jul 30, 2019 News

The administration has expressed confidence in Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, 72, who was yesterday sworn in as the new chair for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, SC, CCH.

In a packed room at the Ministry of the Presidency, Singh, who was the police’s legal advisor, swore to perform her duties in accordance with the laws.
It will be a key moment as Guyana prepares for early elections brought on by a shocking no-confidence vote on December 21which was deemed carried by the courts and which triggered the fall of the Coalition Government which was not expecting elections until next year.
Just over a month ago, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, resigned from GECOM as the chair after the Caribbean Court of Justice found that his appointment in 2017 by President David Granger was flawed.
President David Granger, who swore in Justice Singh, a Senior Counsel, who has over 40 years in the legal world of Guyana, has said he is depending on a new chairperson to update him on GECOM’s readiness for elections so he can announce a date.
The Opposition has been insisting that elections are due by September, in keeping with the laws.
However, GECOM has started house-to-house registrations to sanitise a list that they say has thousands of incorrect entries.
The Opposition, however, has stressed that the issues can be fixed with a simply claims and objections period.
Justice Singh would have her work cut out.

Side by side: Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, President David Granger after the swearing-in ceremony yesterday.

The gathering at the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday for the swearing in.

She would have to pronounce on GECOM’s stance on the ongoing house-to-house registrations.
After her swearing in, she pointed out to reporters that both the President and the Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, had reposed their confidence in her and “ask me for the sake of” the country to accept the nomination.
“My priorities will be this– I am endeavoring to have free, fair and transparent elections.
I am also looking forward to meeting with each set of commissioners separately…the meeting with the Government commissioners and then the meeting with the Opposition commissioners.
Then I will bring all of them together.”
The GECOM chair noted that she stands strongly behind inclusivity.
She said she believes in “sitting down and hammering out whatever the problem is”, not having it tried in the media.
Singh will be handing over her files to the police before seeking to hit the ground running today at GECOM.
Questioned about whether she is intimidated by the fact she is a woman who will hold one of the most powerful positions in the country, Justice Singh said her sex made no difference.
“I have held many positions before. When I was on the bench, I was called ‘Iron Lady…I was called the ‘Hanging Judge’…so what is the difference? I am just open…I will do something for Guyana because there is only one way- in accordance with the law and nothing else.”
Present at the swearing in Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo; Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo; several ministers; heads of the army and police; GECOM’s commissioners and former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard, among others.
The PPP Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali, was also there.
According to President Granger, the Constitution, Article 161(1)], provides for the establishment of an Elections Commission.
It was explained that the chairperson will be full-time and not engage in any other forms of employment.
Granger also pointed out that elections shall be independently supervised by the Commission, which is also responsible for the registration of electors or the conduct of elections.
The GECOM, the president said in his remarks, has powers to exercise general direction and supervision over the registration of electors and the administrative conduct of all elections of members of the National Assembly and shall issue such instructions and take such action to ensure impartiality, fairness and compliance with the provisions of the Constitution.
“These are exacting duties and responsibilities. Free, fair, credible and timely elections are essential elements of a democratic state. The Elections Commission is not a plaything. Its independence is a condition for engendering confidence and ensuring public trust in the electoral system and for the efficient execution of elections.”
The president explained that he initiated a consensual process with the Leader of the Opposition to identify a Chairman of the Elections Commission in accordance with the Constitution.
“I received from the Leader of the Opposition a list of six names “not unacceptable” to me, on 26th July 2019. I chose Justice Claudette Singh from that list. The appointment of Justice Claudette Singh means that the Elections Commission has a Chairman again after a hiatus of a bit more than a month.
“It is now properly constituted and can continue to prepare for the conduct of free, fair, timely and credible elections. It fulfills the Caribbean Court of Justice’s ruling, in relation to Article 161(2).”
According to the President, Justice Singh satisfies the criteria prescribed in the Constitution for the appointment of a chair of the GECOM which says that “…the Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be a person who holds or who has held the office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court or who is qualified to be appointed as any such judge…”
Justice Singh is such a person, Granger stressed.
She was called to the Bar in London in 1973 and admitted to the Bar in Guyana in 1976. She served as the Deputy Solicitor General and as a Puisne Judge and a Justice of Appeal.
She led the way for the Modernisation of the Justice Reform Project during her tenure at the Attorney General’s Chambers.
“Justice Singh brings years of legal experience as a jurist and as a practitioner of the law to her appointment. She is respected widely for her integrity, impartiality and independence. I thank her for accepting the appointment.
“I am confident that she will discharge her duties in accordance with her oath of office and in compliance with the Constitution and our election laws.”
The president said that he is recommitting the state to providing assistance to the Commission to enable it to conduct general and regional elections in the shortest time possible.