Dear Editor
ON the appointment of Chairman for GECOM, the Guyana Constitution (Article 161) never singularly stipulated that such should be a judge or eligible to be one. Desmond Hoyte, SC, as Leader of Opposition, was the one who put forward Dr. Steve Surujbally’s name. Surujbally is a veterinarian by profession and was not qualified in legal studies.Article 161, expressly states: “the  Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be a person who holds or who has held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth, or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court or who is qualified to be appointed as any such judge, or any other fit and proper person, to be appointed by the President from a list of six persons, not unacceptable to the President, submitted by the Leader of the Opposition after meaningful consultation with the non-governmental political parties represented in the National Assembly.”
Referring to GECOM’s website on its Introduction page,  the qualification for a Chairman accordingly says: “Article 161 (2) of the Constitution (subject to paragraph 6 of the Article) provided that “The Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be appointed by the President from among persons who hold or have held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court or who are qualified to be appointed as any such judge”.       http://www.gecom.org.gy/constitution_reform.html
GECOM’s page does not accurately reflect the qualification(s) required to be eligible to be appointed Chairman as per the current Constitution.  This source may have guided what the media reported is President Granger’s decision to reject the nominees on the ground that none is a sitting judge or qualified to so be.
Regards
Lincoln Lewis