AS the date for Local Government Elections (LGE) draws closer, mayoral candidate Mark Benschop has strongly objected to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) candidate, Robeson Benn’s presence on the list of candidates for the elections.It’s a conflict of interest, he says, since Benn is also a Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner.

At a press conference at Team headquarters on Quamina Street yesterday, Benschop said, “We strongly object to former Minister, Mr. Robeson Benn being a commissioner at GECOM, and a candidate in the local government elections.”

However, when contacted, the former minister said that the name on GECOM’s list is not his, but that of his son, and that a simple check of the ID card and age could have verified that.

Present at the Team Benschop press conference were Campaign Manager Ronson Gray; Youth Director Royston Alikins; leader of the list of candidates Salima Bacchus-Hinds; and Communications Director Janelle Persaud.

Calling on the PPP and GECOM to issue a statement on the issue, Benschop said: “We believe that Mr. Roberson Benn should do the honourable thing; you cannot serve two masters at the same time. He cannot be sitting at GECOM as a commissioner, pronouncing and deliberating on election matters, while being a candidate in these elections. It is unacceptable! Nowhere else in the world this happens; where a senior member of GECOM will be contesting in any elections.”

Underscoring that the opposition party should withdraw Robeson Benn as an LGE candidate, Benschop said he cannot understand how such a situation was able to slip through the cracks of the elections commission, but they have been notified and a meeting was planned.

Benschop said either Mr. Benn has to give up one of his positions in favour of the other since if this is not done legal action will be taken along with the other options at hand.

“We understand that there is no direct law preventing this, but in the interest of democracy, transparency and decency Mr. Robeson Benn cannot be a candidate in the very elections he makes pronouncements, this does not happen in any part of the Caribbean, South America or anywhere else,” the mayoral candidate explained.

Benschop clarified that as a mayoral candidate it doesn’t matter which political party it is as long there is a conflict of interest that has to be highlighted. “And this is not because the PPP has put forward a candidate who happens to work at GECOM, if the PNC or APNU had done that then we would have been objecting also along with any other group, whether the AFC or whoever, we believe that transparency should be at the top of the agenda.”

Other members at the press conference championed the issue highlighted by Benschop, noting that there should be transparency at all levels of governance and the pending local elections.

Campaign Manager Gray noted that another issue is with current council members vying for reelection to the council and in the meantime are using the council’s resources to campaign.

“We believe if former councillors want to campaign, they should campaign on the works carried out during their tenure in the council, they should not campaign on the current cleanup which is spearheaded by central government,” Gray said.

He called on those councilors who are guilty of this action to desist since it is unfair electioneering. “Campaign on things you did throughout the last 20 years and not the current cleanup campaign.”

The campaign manager further noted that another issue was the M&CC request for assistance from central government for a forensic audit.

“The City Council should be independently audited by an outside agency, we have seen government agencies taking over from the previous administration independently audited and TeamBenchop calls for the same for City Hall since they have been recipients of government funds over the years through subventions and other means. We do not want the ‘cats watching the milk’, and an independent audit will reveal all the corruption at that level,” he asserted.

By Rabindra Rooplall