‘Red Letter Day’ for the GOA!

Mar 14, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, Sports

– Elections to proceed as planned amidst controversy

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur News – The controversial Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) elections will proceed as planned today from 5:00pm at Olympic House in Lilliendaal.

GOA’s incumbent president Kalam Juman-Yassin

Following the review of the GOA’s audited financial statements and a report from the Executive Committee for their 2017 – 2022 period, qualified Associations will vote for new Executive officers for 2023 – 2025.

The meeting’s agenda, shared with Kaieteur News, stated that after the elections, the new Executive Committee will appoint Auditors and authorize the executives to fix their remuneration.

The floor would then be open for questions, motions, resolutions and any other business that might need to be addressed by the Executive Committee from the GOA’s membership.

Guyana Baseball League (GBL) president Robin Singh and Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) president Godfrey Munroe will go head-to-head for the ‘head chair’ position of the GOA, where for the first time in almost three decades, the association will have a new president.

GOA presidential candidate Robin Singh

The incumbent president, Kalam Juman-Yassin, was disbarred from seeking another term at the helm of the GOA following the Association’s new constitution’s 70-year age-limit clause.

There has been a series of questions and threats of legal action emanating from the GOA’s affiliates after some members were excluded from participating in the voting process.

The GOA had set several requirements for its members to be deemed eligible to vote; the GBL, 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 ineligible to vote at the EGM.

However, in a letter to the Associations attached to the GOA, Yassin, a former Chief Magistrate and Attorney-At-Law, stated that none of the Constituent Members can be disqualified under the past or current constitution.

GOA presidential candidate Godfrey Munroe

Yassin also questioned the legality of the GOA’s notices to the Associations since Secretary-General Hector Edwards, according to reports, said he did not sign or authorize the correspondence.

Yassin is arguing that the letter dated March 7 highlighting the eligibility of associations and nominated candidates for the Elections “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.”

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.”

With Yassin being one of the country’s premier legal luminaries, it would be interesting to see how things unfold today, especially since he’s legal counsel for several sports institutions in Guyana.

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Godfrey Munroe, Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Kalam Juman-Yassin, Robin Singh

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