…both President, Leader of Opposition to submit nominees

PRESIDENT David Granger is likely to nominate persons to go on the list for consideration to be the next chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission.

Following the recent ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the appointment of the chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), government said it interprets this to mean both the President and opposition leader will provide names of persons for the top post- a position the Opposition Leader said he is comfortable with.

Government’s position on the matter was stated by Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, in a correspondence in reply to one penned by opposition spokesperson, Gail Teixeira, on Friday.

The letter from Harmon stated that President David Granger reiterated his commitment to meet with the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, to discuss the important constitutional requirement.

Quoting paragraph 26 of the CCJ ruling, the Director General stated, “the court decided that the most sensible approach to operationalising the article was for the leader of the opposition and the President to communicate with each other in good faith and perhaps even meet to discuss, eligible candidates for the position of Chairman before a list is formally submitted. The aim of these discussions must be to agree the names of six persons who fit the stated eligibility requirements and who are not unacceptable to the President.”

On Saturday, Teixeira, in response to Harmon’s letter, noted that Jagdeo does not agree with the President being able to nominate persons for the GECOM chair post.
However, she later stated that in an effort to find “consensus” Jagdeo is not “averse” to President Granger being able suggest the names of nominees in their proposed engagement for the former President to consider.

The CCJ ruled that the President and the opposition leader ought to have met prior to the submission of the list, and consulted on names. President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, explained that consultation between the President and the opposition leader would have allowed for consensus and submission of a list of six persons who would have reached the eligibility requirements. “In this regard, the Constitution anticipates that the leader of the opposition and the President will conduct themselves in a reasonable and responsible manner, eschew partisanship and seek the best interests of the Republic and the Guyanese people,” the CCJ President added.

He said use of the double negative sent a clear message on how the President ought to have viewed the nominees or list provided.

“In our view, employment of the double negative, ‘not unacceptable’, signals that an onus is placed on the President not to find a nominee unacceptable merely because the nominee is not a choice the President would have himself made. By a majority, the court found, the President should only find a nominee unacceptable for some good reason on objective ground,” Justice Saunders told the parties in the matter.

The Judge explained: “If a President were permitted, capriciously or whimsically, without proffering a good reason, to reject eligible nominees, this would frustrate the proper working of the Constitution, defeat the intention behind the amendment to Article 161(2) and pave the way for unilateral presidential appointment.”

The CCJ President said the court found that once the President and the leader of the opposition have come up with a list of names not unacceptable to the President, the list, comprising the six persons, must then formally be submitted to the President by the leader of the opposition. This would automatically be followed by the President’s selection of a chairman from among the names.