Yassin challenges legality of March 14 GOA elections

Mar 13, 2023 Sports

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– Calls for elections to be postponed citing fraud in correspondence to Associations

 By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur News – With 24 hours to go before the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Electoral General Meeting (EGM), there’s a call from the long-serving president, Kalam Juman-Yassin, to not proceed.

The former Chief Magistrate and now Attorney-at-Law believes that hosting an election with some affiliates challenging several statutes in the GOA’s constitution would ultimately bring the Association to disrepute.

According to a correspondence from the GOA to its members, only 17 associations were deemed as worthy to participate in the elections while the Guyana Baseball League (GBL) along with Guyana Judo Federation, Guyana Netball Association, Guyana Canoe Federation, Guyana Taekwondo Association and the Guyana Fencing Federation were listed as ineligible.

Archery Guyana, Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation, and the Guyana Wrestling Association are Associate members pending affiliation to the GOA and are also ineligible to vote at the EGM.

In a letter to the Associations attached to the GOA, Yassin stated that none of the Constituent Members can be disqualified under the past or current constitution.

“The current Constitution was approved on the 16th of June, 2022 and a year has not yet passed to ascertain whether they are in breach of having a national championship. The Constitution is not retroactive and became active in June 2022,” Yassin said.

According to Yassin, “even if any of the deemed ineligible Associations were in breach, none of them were ever sent a warning or final letters requesting compliance with the Constitution. None of them was ever suspended by the Council as is required by Art 16.5. How can the Executive or the Returning Officer disenfranchise any of them? Ultimately it is Council that has that power.”

“I have noted in correspondence dated the 11th March that the Returning Officer has overturned her previous in relation to Ms Vidushi Persaud and maintained that Aliann Pompey is still ineligible. I do believe that she is in breach of Art 16.5 and is acting ultra vires as it is for the EGM to so determine if there is any doubt or dispute. To the highest, she may offer an opinion but not make a decision,” the former Magistrate stated.

Yassin also questioned the legality of the GOA’s notices to the Associations, since Secretary-General Hector Edwards informed that he did not sign or authorize the correspondence, “this means that the letter dated the 7th March is of no effect and lacks the legality and efficacy as is required under Art 11.3.5. It means that there has been a breach of the election process and the title of Art 11 specifically spoke about the Election Process.”

“What is extremely troubling,” Yassin reasoned, “is that the author of the said letter of the 7th March may be a member of the executive and has not come forward to explain or own up to what can be called a criminal offence of forgery. Hector Edwards has informed me who that person is, as that person had tried to get him to agree that he had signed but Hector told him that he did not and it must be corrected.”

The GOA president further added, that “as a result of the grave breach of Art 1.3.5 it is my view both as president and from a legal standpoint that the meeting on Tuesday cannot legally proceed as it would be in direct contravention of the Constitution.”

Robin Singh will go head-to-head with Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) president Godfrey Munroe in the run-off for Yassin’s seat after the administrator for almost three decades is not eligible to seek re-elections according to the GOA Constitution’s age-limit clause.

Director of Sport and president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle, Guyana Hockey Board president Philip Fernandes and Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) Cristy Campbell are contesting the Vice President position.

The GOA only allows for three Vice Presidents, which will give the aforementioned sports administrators an automatic place on the Executive Committee.

Commonwealth Games gold and silver medalist and Chairman of the Pan Am Sports Athletes Commission, Aliann Pompey, was deemed ineligible to contest due to article 14.4.1 “being a national of Guyana and ordinarily resident in Guyana.”

The Secretary-General position will see current Vice President Karen Pilgrim coming up against Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon and the President of the Guyana Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, Attorney-At-Law Keavon Bess.

Garfield Wiltshire was the lone nominee for the position of Treasurer, while the Assistant Secretary-General will be contested between Deion Nurse and Latoya Herbert.

Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF) president Michael Singh will challenge Nurse for the Assistant Treasurer position.

 

 

 

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