OPPOSITION LEADER Bharrat Jagdeo, on Monday met with stakeholders during his third round of consultations aimed at selecting nominees for the appointment to the post of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
In a statement to the media, the Opposition Leader said the consultation was geared at submitting a “third set of names for the consideration of the President for the appointment of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)”.

President David Granger had recently rejected a second list of nominees for the chairmanship of GECOM, deeming it unacceptable. The second list comprised retired justices BS Roy and William Ramlal; attorneys Oneidge Walrond-Allicock, Nadia Sagar and Kashir Khan and businessman Gerry Gouveia.
The first list comprised chartered accountant Christopher Ram, governance specialist Lawrence Lachmansingh, business executives Ramesh Dookhoo and Norman McLean, author Ryhaan Shah and historian, Professor James Rose.

While Jagdeo maintains that he disagrees with the President’s interpretation of the Constitution on the appointment of a GECOM Chair, he is committed to submitting a third list. At a recent press conference at his Church Street Office, he said, “I think all those people are fit and proper and suitably qualified to be appointed Chairman of GECOM”.
Article 161 (2) of the Constitution stipulates that the Opposition Leader must submit a list of six nominees for the position of GECOM Chairman, of which no candidate must be unacceptable. After his second list had been rejected, the President wrote the Opposition Leader explaining that he had examined the Curricula Vitae of the six persons and found the list to be “unacceptable” within the meaning of the Constitution and of those criteria.

Subsequently, via a joint press statement issued by the Ministry of the Presidency, both parties agreed that it would be in the best interest of the people of Guyana that a Chairperson is appointed without undue delay.
Additionally, the statement revealed that it was also agreed by both parties that a high-level team, representing both sides, would be assembled, with a mandate of immediately exploring modalities to bring a resolution to this matter in the event that the third list is rejected. No details were given on who would comprise that team or if persons have been identified on either side.

Meanwhile, President Granger in an interview with the Press and Publicity Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency, had said that the list must include six persons who are all qualified so that the choice is not limited. “Every member of the list suggested must conform to the criteria and you cannot put on the list, a person who does not conform… I must be given a choice. I don’t believe that the second list gave me the range of choice that the people of Guyana deserve,” he said. “Nothing is ever settled until it is settled right and he has to get it right,” the President added.