President David Granger has made it clear that he will choose someone who is fit to be a judge as the new chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The President, during his weekly recording of ‘The Public Interest’ on Thursday, revealed that the Constitution is clear on the required qualifications and it is obvious that what the drafters of the document had in mind was someone who had arrived at the position of a judge. He said it is expected that the person would have been someone who possess the qualities of impartiality, integrity and intelligence.

According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, the President added that any fit or proper person must approximate those qualities that characterise what is expected of a judge.

“I am going to choose somebody, who is fit to be a judge and who can discharge the functions of Office of Chairman of the Elections Commission with impartiality, with integrity and with intelligence. Fit and proper means you have to possess those three qualities,” President Granger said.

He further noted, “The Constitution is clear that once the Leader of the Opposition fails to submit a list of persons, who are not unacceptable, I will have to make a choice but I will choose someone who is acceptable to both sides and who the general public is satisfied with.”

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has already submitted six nominees to the President for the post; however the President rejected the list on the grounds that it is unacceptable and asked Jagdeo to submit a new list. Jagdeo on the other hand wrote the President, seeking clarifications as to why the list is unacceptable.

In response, the President recommended that the Opposition Leader send a representative to meet with Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, to seek the necessary clarification. Jagdeo has since chosen former Attorney General Anil Nandlall as his representative to meet with Williams soon.

“I think the quickest route would be for two legal minds to interpret the article of the Constitution… At this point in time, I feel that it is purely constitutional; purely legal,” the President said on The Public Interest.

Article 161 (2) of the Constitution states that, “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 jurisdictions in appeals from any such court or who is qualified to be appointed as any such judge, or any other fit person…”

Delay will impact GECOM

According to the release, the President lamented that the delay in finalising a candidate will have an impact on the work of the Commission, particularly since preparations have to commence for the holding of the 2018 Local Government Elections.

“I did not want to prolong the discussion or deliberation because I thought it was quite simple. The Constitution in my mind is very clear and I felt that once I had alerted the Leader of the Opposition to the fact that his set of recommendations were not in accordance with the Constitution [that] he would have submitted a second list… I would like to bring this matter to a swift conclusion,” he said.

President Granger however remains confident that dialogue between the Attorney General and legal representatives from the Opposition could expedite the resolution of this matter.

He said once the new list is in conformity with the Constitution, the process of selecting a candidate could be completed within a matter of days. He added that he is in no rush to name anyone but is more concerned with a consultative process, as outlined by the Constitution, which satisfies the requirements there in and is acceptable to all stakeholders.

“I don’t have a candidate in mind. I have a qualification in mind. I want someone who satisfies the Constitutional requirement. That is all I want,” he said.