GUYANESE are calling on the political players to desist from interfering with the work of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), noting that the country should await the decision of the court before rushing into elections.

Based on the advice of its secretariat, the Elections Commission has advised President David Granger that it will be fully prepared to hold elections by November, 2019 – but this position has not augur well with the Parliamentary Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). In light of the no-confidence motion against the government, the opposition leader is demanding that elections be held by April 30, 2019 ‘by the hook or by the crook.’ The matter, with respect to the validity of the no-confidence motion, is also engaging the attention of the Court of Appeal.

On Tuesday, the Guyana Chronicle turned to ‘the men and women in the street’ for their thoughts on the current political situation.

Sitting in his usual spot in the Stabroek Market was 51-year-old Mohammed Hussain, who said that based on the Constitution, the December 21, 2018 no-confidence motion should not have been passed in the National Assembly. According to him, that’s a slippage on the part of the government. Nonetheless, Hussain said given the uncertainty which surrounds the validity of the no-confidence motion, the country should wait on the decision of the Appellate Court before moving ahead with elections.

“They should wait on the court. They should definitely wait on the court for a way forward, there is no need to rush,” he told this newspaper. According to him, constitutionally, the government’s five-year-term ends in 2020, and it is guaranteed that right under the Constitution. He said to wait, would avert any conflict, pointing out that the PPP/C only represents a minority in House, and the views of the majority should not be disregarded. With the impending oil economy, Hussain said the political leaders should work together in the interest of the country.

Weighing in on the issue, Michael Small said GECOM should be given the opportunity to conduct its work without any interference from politicians. “GECOM is the constitutional body responsible for elections, and so the President cannot simply act without getting a word from GECOM. He can’t. He can’t force a date on GECOM, he can’t,” Small told this newspaper while standing in the Stabroek Market.

With GECOM indicating that it needs approximately eight months to prepare for elections, Small proposed that the court, pending its decision, should grant an extension to the deadline outlined in the Constitution following the passage of a no-confidence motion. The motion has triggered the need for early elections but GECOM has long indicated that the three month timeframe outlined in Article 106 (6) and Article 106 (7) of the Constitution could not have been reached.

“The court should grant an extension, if the opposition doesn’t want to support an extension in the Parliament, then the court should grant it because the three months is every short. GECOM cannot mobilise its resources within three months for a General Elections. Although the Constitution said an election should be held within three months, that’s a difficult task,” Small submitted.

Small reasoned that any attempt to rush the elections could result in eligible Guyanese being disenfranchised. “I think the opposition knows that it is difficult to hold an election within 90 days but I think he (Bharrat Jagdeo) is being a little unfair,” Small opined, while urging the opposition leader to remember that he too had called for the independence of GECOM to be respected under his presidency.

In Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini), 18-year-old Trevor Broomes endorsed GECOM’s position to conduct house-to-house registration before elections are held. With GECOM unable to hold elections before April 30, 2019 when the Official List of Electors expires, house-to-house registration becomes necessary to generate a new list of eligible voters.
Eighty-year-old Neville Bradford, who also hails from Mabaruma, said at this juncture, house-to-house registration is a must, and the opposition must come to that understanding. “Jagdeo wants an early election but you cannot get early elections without house-to-house registration; that has to be completed before you get elections,” he posited.

Bradford took note of the fact that the opposition leader is pushing for elections to be held using the current List of Elections, but according to him, “that can’t wuk.” He contended that the current list is bloated and omits eligible voters who turned 18 after November, 2018 when the list was compiled.

Bradford noted that while GECOM has $3B to conduct the nationwide registration, it would also require additional finances to facilitate the elections. “They have money for house-to-house, but they don’t have to run off the elections, so I am thinking early next year around February, March would be a good time,” he opined.

While he proposed that elections be held until 2020, the elderly man said the decision and timeframe given by GECOM must be respected.
In Linden, Member of Parliament, Audwin Rutherford, said generating a credible list is important. “A genuine election needs a genuine list. All Guyanese would be proud of an election with a list that allows for the participation of maximum quality of our youths and excluding the names of the dead. Haste should not be ahead of having credible elections,” Rutherford said. According to him, November is a “reasonable” time.

His colleague, MP Jermaine Figueira underscored the importance of respecting GECOM as a constitutional body. “GECOM is a constitutionally independent agency and its independence should be respected to conduct the affairs pertaining to registration, elections, etc, without interference,” Figueira posited.

The Region 10 representative in the House, endorsed GECOM’s decision to conduct house-to-house registration. “I strongly believe the list is not a true reflection of our population and a lot of our young people are not on the present concoction of the list. If the commission believes otherwise their position, their independence should be respected with the reasons they may posit,” he said.

Samuel Wright, a Lindener as well, expressed a different view. He told this newspaper that GECOM should not have waited until the eleventh hour before attempting to make preparations for elections. According to Wright, GECOM has lost some credibility as he laid the blame at the feet of the commission.

“For me, GECOM should understand, they should start putting things in order. So for them to wait for to President tell them start moving is not right on the part of GECOM,” Wright opined.

Wright said while GECOM cannot be forced to hold election by April 30 as proposed by the opposition leader, he is concerned about the consequences. The Lindener noted too that while the government is in its right to challenge the vote of no-confidence, the clock has not stopped ticking, as such, the motion remains valid until a determination by the Appellate Court.