…AFC leader says CCJ judgement requires consensus on arriving at nominees

THE Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, cannot dump six names on President David Granger and expect him to make a choice to elect a new Chairman for Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). They must meet and agree on all the names submitted.

This is according to Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, who, on Wednesday, said that such was the order given by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Former Chair of GECOM, Justice (ret’d) James Patterson demitted office on Monday, June 24, one week after the CCJ ruled that the process by which he was appointed was “flawed.”
“It appears that a lot of people have not read the CCJ judgment in relation to the elections chairman. The leader of the opposition and the President must meet and work out the six names, so it is not as if the opposition leader can just go and put six names into the hands of the President. They must meet and deliberate on six names that are acceptable to the President,” Ramjattan said.

He said the consensual approach in accordance with paragraph 10 of Justice Adrian Saunders decision states “they must meet and work out the six names together and then once it’s acceptable to the President, the President selects one of the six.” 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 CCJ made on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

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. 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.