The ball is now in the GECOM Chair’s court

Aug 27, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

It is now crystal clear that regional and general elections cannot be held within the constitutionally prescribed period – that is, before September 18, 2019. The Granger administration has utilised all the delaying tactics imaginable to circumvent the effects of the No-confidence vote, including recourse to the Courts, and its apparent control over GECOM prior to the CCJ’s ruling on the illegality of the unilateral appointment of the previous Chairman.
The challenge now is for the new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission to stamp her authority as someone who is prepared to uphold constitutional rule and the rule of law. In this regard, she is well advised to, without any further delay, indicate to President Granger of GECOM’s readiness to hold elections within the shortest possible time, having regard to the fact that the elections were already long overdue.
Ideally, consensus among GECOM Commissioners on the issue of GECOM’s readiness would have been a preferred and desirable approach, but this is highly unlikely, given the entrenched and uncompromising partisan stance taken by the three Government-nominated Commissioners on the issue of house-to-house registration.
The Government-nominated Commissioners seem bent on applying maximum delaying tactics in clear violation of the Constitution, which if allowed to continue, would render the Constitution ineffective. The Chairman of GECOM already has her job cut out by the decisions of the CCJ as they pertain to the timeframe within which elections should be held. The ball is now in her Court.
Hydar Ally

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