— in holding elections following no-confidence vote, says Commissioner Trotman

WHILE the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) expects Guyana to hold elections as stipulated by the Constitution, in the case of a no-confidence vote, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner Desmond Trotman explained that Guyana faces a unique set of challenges.

On Tuesday, Trotman responded to comments of CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders who, last Thursday, suggested that the country ought to be prepared for snap elections.
On Thursday, May 9 and Friday, May 10, the CCJ heard oral arguments in three consolidated matters which stemmed from the December 21 no-confidence motion in the National Assembly of Guyana.

In one of the matters, the CCJ is to determine whether 34 votes were required to carry the motion of no-confidence in Guyana which will determine whether the country heads into early elections.

At the hearing, GECOM’s Senior Counsel, Stanley Marcus, told the court that once funding is provided, elections could be held by November, 2019 following the revision of the Official List of Voters through house-to-house registration.

However, Saunders stated: “It seems to me that the commission, must, at every stage, put itself in a position where, within a three-month timeframe, it is able to handle an election because that is always possible and if that situation were to occur then the normal strategic plan that you had… would have to be adjusted,” Justice Saunders suggested.
However, Trotman explained that while Guyana would one day like to achieve the same, its challenges are specific.

“The judges aren’t aware of all the nuances on the commission. One of the things they don’t know is that the commission cannot act in relation to an election until they have money. So it’s all well and good to say that the commission should always be in a position to carry out elections but one of the primary things for the commission to act in relation to the elections is money and the commission is only given money for an election when election is due,” he explained.

Earlier in the year, GECOM had stated that it would require $3.5B to conduct General and Regional Elections and the President had also committed that these funds would be provided to the commission.

Funding from the government is still pending on the decision of the CCJ. In the meantime, Trotman said GECOM continues to function on existing funds of the secretariat.

“I suspect in some point in time a formal request will go to the Parliament for money for holding elections. We’ve already submitted what is required,” he said.
“I believe that if it is that the CCJ rules against the government that the government will then have to go and ask for money.”

Meanwhile, Trotman stated that GECOM is working towards the commencement of house-to-house registration by the first week of June 2019.

He stated that by then, the over 8,000 polling day staff should be fully trained to conduct the countrywide exercise which can run for a long as two-three weeks.