…to appoint chairman of GECOM

OPPOSITION Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, said he will make himself available to meet with President David Granger “at any time” and “on a daily basis if needs be” with regards to the selection of a new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

This was detailed in a letter dispatched to Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, by Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira.

President Granger had invited Jagdeo to a meeting “to discuss the current political situation in Guyana resulting from the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice [CCC], made on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

The need for the meeting comes following the June 18 CCJ ruling that the December 2018 motion of no-confidence against the government was successfully passed and that the process of appointing Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson as Chairman of GECOM was flawed.
The court then postponed its June 24, 2019 expected issuance of consequential orders until July 12 to facilitate submissions from parties involved on the factors they believe should influence the court’s decision.

The CCJ also expects the two political leaders and the legal officials who represented them in the cases before the court, to meet to determine whether a compromise can be met prior to the next court session.

The two political leaders must not only decide on the appointment of a new chairman, but also on a timeframe for credible elections.

However, in the letter dispatched to Harmon, Teixeira only indicated the opposition leader’s interest in the appointment of a new GECOM Chair. She also stated that the decision to meet comes following the court’s ruling and the resignation of Patterson which was announced earlier on Tuesday to have taken effect the previous day.

“With regards to the Caribbean Court of Justice ruling on June 18 [2019] CCJ 9 (AJ), and, following the announcement today that the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson has resigned, l wish, on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Bharrat Jagdeo, M.P., to inform you that Mr. Jagdeo is prepared to meet with the President at any time, and, on a daily basis if needs be, to address the appointment of a new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission consistent with the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice on June 18, 2019,” the letter stated.

The government has outlined, in its proposal that the registration of persons for the purpose of ascertaining who is qualified to be an elector is by ‘house-to- house visits’, as provided for under Section 3(1) of the Elections Law (Amendment) Act of 2000.

“General and Regional Elections shall be held on the National Register of Registrants/Central Register under the National Registration Act, which Register is to be prepared by ‘house-to-house visits’ pursuant to Sections 2 and 3 of the National Registration Act as amended by the National Registration (Amendment) Act No. 31 of 2007,” the government asserted.

On the issue of the chairman of the Elections Commission, the government has asserted that account must be taken of the de facto doctrine that all acts done by the chairman while he purported to perform the duties of chairman shall be declared valid.

Additionally, it has proposed that “before the list is formally handed over to the President in order to facilitate the appointment of a chairman of the Elections Commission, the President and the leader of the opposition shall communicate with each other, in good faith, not excluding meeting face-to-face, with a view to agreeing to a list of six persons who meet the eligibility criteria, not unacceptable to the President, from which the President shall select a Chairman of the GECOM in accordance with the Constitution as expeditiously as possible.”

The President, since the court’s ruling, has expressed his respect for the decisions made and his openness to engage with the leader of the opposition as it relates to developments within the country.