…Min. Ally dispatches letter

THE meeting between the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the parliamentary chief whips to discuss the commission’s operational readiness for General and Regional Elections is still pending.

This is according to Minister of Social Protection and Government Chief Whip Amna Ally, who told the newspaper on Thursday that the meeting’s hosting depends on the availability GECOM Chairman Justice (Rtd) James Patterson.

Following the high-level bilateral meeting between the government and opposition on Wednesday, the two sides had agreed that Ally, along with Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, would lead the team which will meet to discuss the matter.

The government had allowed for mutual discussions to proceed on GECOM’s state of readiness even as two applications are present before the court regarding the legitimacy of the December 21, 2018 no-confidence vote.
However, Minister Ally says that she has written to Patterson about the engagement and such can only occur based on his availability.

“I have written to the chairman and I am awaiting a response from him. He has to be present but what I know is that I’ve written asking for a meeting with the commission so that we can both be apprised of the readiness of GECOM. So I’m awaiting a response from them,” she said.

The GECOM chair was recently granted an extension to his medical leave by his doctor after he fell in December and has since been reported as “recovering well”.
At his most recent press conference, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo claimed that the hosting of such a meeting on GECOM’s operational status is proof that General and Regional elections would be held this year.

However, Ally said that there is no way the opposition can suggest a concrete timeline regarding elections as this depends on GECOM’s readiness and, furthermore, the validity of the no-confidence vote.
“What I know is that we are waiting on the courts to make the determinations and whenever we go to elections, GECOM has to be ready,” she stated. “We won’t have an election if GECOM is not ready.”

President David Granger at the joint government-opposition meeting had rejected Jagdeo’s request to withdraw the legal challenge to the no-confidence vote which the administration believes was tainted by an alleged corrupt deal.

As the two sides await word from Patterson, Ally reminds that certain specifics will be analysed when the meeting eventually convenes.
She said: “[We will look at] where GECOM stands in terms of their preparedness; whether their list is in order; whether they can acquire the necessary elections material. They will be able to give us an update as to where they are with those things.”