Dr Surujbally ready to help
Dr. Steve Surujbally , Veterinary Surgeon
Dr. Steve Surujbally , Veterinary Surgeon

— says willing to lend assistance to new GECOM chair 

FORMER Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally, said he is willing to lend assistance to his recently appointed successor, retired Judge, Justice James Patterson if the need arises.
Though Dr Surujbally said he does not know Justice Patterson personally, he said he is prepared to do what former Chairman Joe Singh did for him when he (Dr Surujbally) was appointed in 2001.

“I am absolutely ready to lend assistance… when I was appointed I had a half-hour meeting with Joe Singh which turned to three hours, during which I received great advice,” said Dr Surujbally, who served as GECOM chair for 15 years.
He also told the Guyana Chronicle that President David Granger would not appoint someone who does not know anything about the work of GECOM.

The former GECOM chair said the “blue prints” are there and Patterson just needs to follow what was being done in order to ensure the commission is improved.
After being responsible for three General and Regional Elections and one Local Government Election (LGE) in the past 15 years, Dr Surujbally believes that some constitutional changes are needed to improve the commission.
And as such, he urged Justice Patterson to make the necessary recommendations to the government.

“The entire make-up of the commission has to be reviewed, but that is up to the political parties,” said the former GECOM chairman, who pointed out that the chairman can only advise them.
After being sworn in on Thursday evening, Patterson made his first suggestion to not just the government but politicians, saying they need to fight for the unity of Guyana.
“I am apolitical, I have not been in politics, and I don’t think I will ever be, don’t have the stamina for that, politics,” the retired judge said.

President Granger appointed the new chairman following a meeting with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday, when he informed the latter of his disapproval of a third list of nominees which was submitted to him.
The President said he found the third list of nominees, which he received from the opposition leader on August 25, to be unacceptable within the meaning of the Constitution.
He said he also paid careful attention to the ruling of Chief Justice Roxanne George in the case Marcel Gaskin vs the Attorney General.

The President said that being desirous of fulfilling the requirements of the Constitution and given the need of appointing the chair of GECOM and in light of the failure of Jagdeo to present him with a list that is not unacceptable, he decided that it would be in the public interest to resort to the proviso in the Constitution under Article 161: 2, which permits him to act independently and appoint a person of the judicial category to be chairman of the elections body.

Dr. Surujbally said he cannot comment on the legality of the appointment, but he said if there are legal challenges, the lawyers will have a “field day” because they understand the intricacies of the Constitution.
The Private Sector Commission in a statement on Friday said the decision of the President to act unilaterally and independently of the submissions of the opposition leader poses a “clear threat” to democracy and will inevitably divide the nation and lead to economic instability.

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