GECOM proposes November for polls
Seated from left are GECOM Commissioners Bibi Shadick, Sase Gunraj and Robeson Benn who assembled at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo (Samuel Maughn photo)
Seated from left are GECOM Commissioners Bibi Shadick, Sase Gunraj and Robeson Benn who assembled at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo (Samuel Maughn photo)

…after house-to-house registration

CHAIRMAN of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson has informed President David Granger that General and Regional elections can be held by late November 2019, following the completion of house-to-house registration.

Patterson, by way of a letter dated March 19, 2019, also informed the Head of State that the exercise requires approximately G$3.5B to be facilitated through appropriation to the Commission.

The announcement comes as the President had asked the Commission, on two occasions, to present its plans, programmes and financial needs for the hosting of credible General and Regional elections, in the shortest possible time.

The information was needed to guide the President’s determination of an election date which is feasible for the Commission to meet.

In the letter to the President, Patterson stated: “…I would proffer that the Commission would be in a position to conduct General and Regional Elections no earlier than late November 2019 with an Official List of Electors having a qualifying date of 31 October 2019.”

He came to the conclusion, having observed the months of discussions by the Commission and after reviewing the submissions of GECOM Secretariat, regarding its capabilities and financial requirements.

However, coming out of Tuesday’s statutory meeting, as Commissioners updated the media on the ‘unfolding’, it was noted that the day marked the fifth time that the Opposition-appointed Commissioners had walked out of the meetings, but, this time, during the Chairman’s introduction.

Commissioners Sase Gunraj, Bibi Shadick and Robeson Benn did so consecutively on February 28, March 5, March12, March 14 and March 19, 2019.

Subsequent to the meeting, the Opposition-appointed Commissioners called an “urgent” meeting at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, where they casted doubt that the letter was authored by the Chairman Their description of the correspondence as “illegal” runs similar to the February 2019 claims – now in silence mode – of Jagdeo, where he alleged the letters written to Patterson by the President were fraudulently altered.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon was caused to make a national address refuting the claims which he termed as malicious, deceitful and bewildering.

In the Chairman’s correspondence to the President on March 19, 2019, he stated that he had received and reviewed the Secretariat’s February 4 submissions which indicated “what was possible and what was impossible to achieve”. He noted that, by February 5, 2019, the Commission was “intimately aware” that it was impossible to conduct elections within the three-month time frame or by April 30, 2019 when the current electors list expires.

Discussion on these matters led the Commission to its formal decisions on February 17, 2019 that elections cannot be held in 90 days; that the commission does not have funding for elections and that house-to-house registration, as budgeted for 2019, will commence immediately.

The decisions were later communicated by Patterson to the President by way of letter on February 21, 2019.

“Unfortunately, since that time and notwithstanding the clarity of the issues, the lucid contributions to the debates by all our Commissioners and the evident majority views which were easily discernable, pivotal formal decisions which should have flowed therefrom proved elusive. The process has been continuously frustrated by the withdrawal of some Commissioners from our official meetings. This has occurred at every session convened since 28th February, 2019, including the Commission’s last meeting on 14th March, 2019,” the Chairman explained in a three-page letter.

Considering the intentional recurrences, Patterson stated that he considered himself “obliged to officially update [the President] accordingly and provide some appropriate information which may be taken into consideration”.

Prior to coming to the conclusion, he had also engaged the GECOM Secretariat to determine the most feasible course of action.

GECOM Commissioner Charles Corbin (Samuel Maughn photo)

He noted that the funds allocated for house-to-house registration, which will enhance the Commission’s ability to deliver credible elections, cannot be diverted to other activities and appropriation will instead be needed.

“I am also advised by the Chief Elections Officer that, given all current considerations, an amount of three and a half billion Guyana dollars is required,” Patterson indicated.

He added: “Kindly note that significant, critical path activities associated with elections cannot commence prior to the availability of these funds to the Commission. In the circumstances, no election date should be contemplated less than five months after these funds are placed at the disposal of and under the control of GECOM.”

The GECOM Chair also told the President that while the Commission has agreed that it would produce two electoral lists each year, it would be “logistically impossible” to produce a list with an April 30, 2019 qualifying date available from May 1, 2019.

He stated that according to the Secretariat’s submissions, the next possible electoral list is available only with a qualifying date of October 31, 2019 to be used beginning November 1, 2019.

Meanwhile, the Secretariat had also proposed that elections be held after the completion of the compilation of a new National Register of Registrants (NRR) through the conduct of house-to-house registration.

Patterson told the Head of State: “Based on suggestions emanating from the Commission and in my direct engagement with the Secretariat, I have been assured by the Commissioner of National Registration/Chief Election Officer that with a significant increase in the allocated resources for that exercise and an adjustment in the management arrangements for some procurement activities, the execution of the programme could be restructured to be completed at least two months earlier, in 2019.”

The Chairman also stated that house-to-house registration would ensure the “credibility and timeliness” for new elections as called for by the President.
He urged the President to support the requirements presented by providing the required additional resources and appropriate guidance to agencies and authorities whose cooperation will be necessary.

At the press conference at the office of the Leader of the Opposition, Commissioner Shadick stated “this is not the Chairman’s language. I don’t know who wrote this but this is not the Chairman” even as she acknowledged that his true signature was attached to the document.

The Commissioners also rejected the letter on the basis that they were not consulted on its writing.

However, Commissioners Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman relayed that the Opposition-appointed Commissioners continue to willingly leave meetings as pertinent matters are being discussed.

On Tuesday, they did so at record-breaking time since the discussions, on the basis of Patterson’s letter to the President, and the indication that the meeting’s agenda would be a continuation of the previous one they abandoned.

“The last four successive meetings, when we were at the point of making a decision there was a walk out. So if you come today and there’s another walk out, what it means, if you follow that logic, is that it is to ensure that we don’t make a decision which is walking us into the crisis that is being talked about,” Corbin said.

The Opposition-nominated Commissioners also claimed that although the Chairman would have indicated a time period and funding needed, a plan is afoot to “delay elections” preventing it from being held in 2019.

Nonetheless, while the President has stated that he will not interfere or intrude in the work of the Commission as mandated by the Constitution, he also made clear his intention to have credible elections at the shortest possible time.

“I cannot influence, interfere with or instruct the Commission in its work. I am guided by its advice as to its readiness to conduct elections before I make a proclamation on the date of those elections,” he has stated.
President Granger maintained: “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.”

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