Elections COI parameters to be set on President’s return to Guyana

Elections COI parameters to be set on President’s return to Guyana — AG

Jun 25, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – As the country awaits the commencement of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2020 General and Regional Elections, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, says all matters surrounding the fact finding process will be ironed out on the return of President Irfaan Ali, who is currently out of country on official state business.

President Irfaan Ali

“All these matters will be addressed upon the President’s return,” was the official statement of the Attorney General when asked for an update on the issues of swearing-in and Terms of Reference (ToR) to guide the CoI.
Just before departing Guyana to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, President Ali disclosed that retired Justice of Appeal, Stanley John of the Turks and Caicos would be the Chairman of the CoI, while its other members are former Attorney General, High Court Judge and Acting Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean, Godfrey P. Smith, Senior Counsel; former Chair and Chief Elections Commissioner of India, Dr. S Y Quraishi and former acting Chancellor of Guyana’s Judiciary, Carl Singh.
Dr. Afari Jayan and Dr. Nasim Zaidi will serve as resource personnel to assist the Commission with its work.
The Attorney General said that at the time of the announcement, President Ali was preparing to leave the country; as such, the announcement was made as promised a week earlier and, “on his return, the President will deal with these matters,” Nandlall related.
President Ali had reported, that “in the coming weeks, the intended Commissioners and resource personnel will review the reports and documentation, set out modalities and commence work.” Following the CHOGM in Kigali, President Ali and the First Lady are expected to travel to Suriname to participate in the Suriname Energy, Oil & Gas Summit & Exhibition (SEOGS) 2022 in Paramaribo on June 27- 28.
Mainly, the ToRs which provides a description of what must be dealt with, considered and the limitations, has to be provided, while the commissioners will also have to be sworn in. CoIs come with a cost, but none has so far been identified to carry out the exercise.
The Opposition parties have nonetheless called for a transparent handling of the CoI, particularly on the part of the government, since the CoI is not only to check on the actions of the opposition during the 2020 elections but the conduct of those involved in the process.
The Opposition Coalition has also been calling on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to conduct its own review into the 2020 elections, as the agency responsible for the conduct of elections in the country.
With President Ali promising more than two years ago to accommodate an investigation into the matter and recent calls increasing for a review to be done, the announcement was made by the president to host the CoI and identify the Commissioners during his speech honouring the Enmore martyrs.
In order to ensure transparency and some amount of fairness, the Opposition has demanded that it be part of the preparation of the ToRs, especially since the President, whose party contested the election, is the one commissioning the CoI with no input from the Opposition since it would also have an interest in the matter. The Opposition, as such, is calling for itself, the Commissioners and the government to create the ToR collectively.
Opposition GECOM Commissioners had earlier this week, submitted a written motion for GECOM to conduct its own internal review as a semi-autonomous body solely responsible for the holding of election.
Kaieteur News understands that no contact has been made with GECOM so far regarding its possible role in the CoI.