…President urges GECOM to work out shortest possible time for elections
…says there needs to be a fresh search for agreement

PRESIDENT David Granger has tasked the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) with determining the shortest possible time in which credible General and Regional elections can be held, after which an election date will be determined.

The decision came following a high-level meeting on Friday between President Granger; GECOM Chairman, Justice (ret’d) James Patterson and Commissioners at the Ministry of the Presidency.

All Commissioners were present, and included government-nominated comissioners Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman, and People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-nominated commissioners Sase Gunraj, Bibi Shadick and Robeson Benn.

Subsequently, in a message to the nation, President Granger described the meeting as an “enlightening and useful engagement” through which he sought guidance from the Elections Commission on their needs to conduct credible elections in the shortest possible time.

“It appeared to the government’s side that there are some differences. We did not feel that the differences are irreconcilable, but there needs to be a fresh search for agreement between the competing opinions in the Commission,” the President said.

BLOATED LIST
He stated that, expectedly, much attention was focused on the voters’ list, which expires on April 30, 2019, and the new list which is expected to come from fresh house-to-house registration as catered for in the 2019 Budget.

The President said that at the meeting, it was made clear that the current voters’ list is bloated and, while election is a normal part of democracy, it is not the government’s intention to see any eligible citizen be disenfranchised.

Both government and opposition-appointed Commissioners have long acknowledged that the current voters’ list is not the most credible, but disagree on the means by which it should be cleansed.

Opposition Commissioners are pushing for a Claims and Objection period, which would suit their desire for an election date before the current list expires on April 30, 2019.
However, the other Commissioners are in favour of house-to-house registration, believing that it is the only option which will not only cleanse the list but ensure those now eligible to vote are included.

“We did not receive the sort of guidance that we need to enable me, as President, to make a proclamation to announce a date, but we have kept the door open, and we have asked the Guyana Elections Commission to go back to the drawing board to examine how quickly, and how easily they can arrive at a consensual position; merge the various approaches;

ensure that the preparations for elections, which have already started, continue, and that we could have an agreement as quickly as possible,” the President said. He added that while it is unfortunate that a date has not yet been named, he is confident that should GECOM reconcile the various viewpoints, Guyanese can look for a date very soon.

GECOM MUST PROVIDE GUIDANCE
Meanwhile, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon reiterated that, ultimately, it is the decision of GECOM, through which the executive will be guided. On Wednesday, coming out of a high-level meeting with the President, Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo had contended that the President had remarked that GECOM is an independent body, and accused government-nominated Commissioners of stymieing the efforts towards elections, stating that the ball is completely in the president’s court to call an election date.

JAGDEO’S DIFFERING VIEWS
However, his comments in 2019 contrast starkly with remarks he’d made while he was President in 2006, when his party faced a similar situation.

“The law says that GECOM shall define the form of verification of the list, or may decide on verification, and will decide on what form it will take. Not the PPP; not the PNC; not any party. GECOM. That’s a constitutional body; Independent just like the courts,” Jagdeo had said back then.

Maintaining the government’s stance from the inception, President Granger said the government does not intend to interfere with the constitutional role and duty of the Commission. “Naturally, I would like to proclaim a date that is sanctioned by the National Assembly and the Constitution, but we have not intruded in the work of the Commission, and we are prepared to support the Commission in what it has been doing,” the President said, adding:

“It is not for me to overrule the Commission. The Commission is independent. It is not for anybody to give the Commission instructions as to when elections are to be held. Once the Commission says it is ready, I will announce a date, and I hope that date is as early as possible. So, the question of the ball being in the President’s court is not a credible position to take.”

ENGINEERING CRISIS
Commissioners Alexander, Trotman and Corbin are hoping that when the Commission meets again on Tuesday, Opposition Commissioners will not choose to walk out of the meeting as they had done twice recently.

“If we continue to have people leave the meeting, what, in fact, they’re doing is engineering what they’ve called a ‘crisis’,” Alexander said. “They’re stymieing the work of the body, and that can only engineer a crisis.”

On the other hand, Commissioners Gunraj, Benn and Shadick are displeased that their 50-day timeframe proposal for new elections did not receive the expected attention, and that the “song about house-to-house registration is continually being sung,” which they believe will push elections into next year.

“I’m of the firm opinion that if everything is conducted, and conducted in a proper manner, house-to-house registration cannot yield a proper outcome in the time contemplated, or suggested by the [GECOM] Secretariat,” Gunraj said.

However, Commissioner Alexander assured him that he and his colleagues continue to push for new elections in 2019. “I have always advocated that for elections to be credible, it must have house-to-house. I’ve also urged the Secretariat to see how they can contract that exercise, so that we have elections in the year 2019,” Alexander said.

He added that the shortest possible time in which GECOM can conduct credible elections will be a technical determination, but he senses that house-to-house registration can conclude around November 2019, while preparations for elections can be done simultaneously. The Commissioners say that they are prepared to return to the drawing board to facilitate progress towards new elections, even if the matter must once again come to a vote.