Former Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodoo among applicants vying to fill vacancy at GECOM

Oct 27, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Former Chief Election Officer (CEO), Gocool Boodoo is among several applicants now seeking to fill the CEO vacancy within the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
A source attached to GECOM confirmed with Kaieteur News that Boodhoo has applied to fill the post, which he exited some eight years ago.

Former CEO, Gocool Boodoo.

Boodhoo’s contract as CEO with GECOM was not renewed, after it expired on April 30, 2013, following a majority vote by the Commission against rehiring him.
Prior to that, Boodhoo was embroiled in controversy after being accused of seeking to have an erroneous declaration of results made that could have handed the PPP/C a parliamentary majority. The former CEO has since denied making any errors. He was appointed a year later as a consultant for the Ministry of Local Government.
Boodhoo and the other applicants are applying for the vacancy within GECOM, a few months after Former CEO Keith Lowenfield was ousted from the position. Last August, GECOM met and terminated the contracts for Lowenfeild, Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, and Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo.
The trio had been placed before the courts on election fraud charges.
Since then, GECOM has been moving forward with advertising for a new CEO, Deputy CEO and other key positions that are currently vacant within the commission.
These posts include: Office of the Chief Election Officer/Commissioner of Registration, Deputy Chief Election Officer/Deputy Commission of Registration, Assistant Chief Election Officer/Assistant Commissioner of Registration, Logistics Manager, Civic and Voter Education Manager, Legal Officer and Chief Accountant.
Draft copies of the vacancy advertisements have been examined and approved by members of the commission. Among them is the advertisement for CEO, which requires candidates applying for that post to have a Post Graduate Degree in Public Administration, Law, Management or relevant discipline from a reputable and recognised institution, and specific training and verifiable experience in managing election systems, along with at least 10 years of experience in a senior management position overseeing and directing diverse operations aimed at achieving targets within specific deadlines.
Additionally, candidates would need at least 10 years relevant experience in Management of National Elections and Election Systems.
While no decision was made as to how long vacancies will be advertised, the Commission had taken a decision that the vacancy notices will be placed in all of the national local newspapers, and on all of the licenced radio stations in Guyana.