GECOM should release PRO’s terms of reference, job description, contractual arrangements – Rohee

THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has reiterated their objection to the appointment of Mr. Richard Francois as Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and is calling on the Commission to make public his terms of reference, job description and contractual arrangements.General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, during the Party’s weekly press conference related that the PPP has made several public statements expressing their concerns over GECOM’s employment procedures and has also written to the Chairman stating clearly their objection to the appointment of Public Relations Officer, Richard Francois.
Rohee said, “If they want to be transparent, let them publish the terms of reference and job description of Mr. Francois as well as his contractual arrangements, let us carry this thing right down to the wire.”
“It is the Party’s view, based on evidence provided to the Chairman of GECOM, that Mr. Francois is openly supportive of the Opposition which can only serve to compromise the integrity of GECOM and information released to the Guyanese people,” Rohee explained. He noted that Francois is openly supportive of the political Opposition and provided several pieces of evidence of this.

ELECTIONS DAY STAFF
The General Secretary also stated during the press conference that the Party has been made aware that GECOM is in the process of recruiting and training Elections Day staff. He said “again we call for a transparent and fair process” and it is also the understanding of the PPP that the 2011 manuals are being used to conduct these training sessions.
Rohee emphasised that: “It seems that GECOM has not learnt from its 2012 Retreat, since the Retreat was more of a review of Elections 2011 which was replete with administrative bungling and open political bias by some of GECOM-appointed polling day staff.”

(Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)