…Justice Patterson, Stanley Ming on list|
…PPP wants its list of 11 considered first

PRESIDENT David Granger has nominated eight persons for the Chairmanship of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), among them Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, who recently demitted office as Chairman, after the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled that the process, which resulted in his appointed, was flawed.

The other nominees, who make up the list to add to the 11 names resubmitted by the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, include: Justice (Ret’d) Stanley Moore, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette La Bennett, former Solicitor General Kim Kyte, Economist Dr. Aubrey Armstrong, Chairperson of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Attorney Kesaundra Alves and businessmen Kads Khan and Stanley Ming.

The names of the eight nominees were presented to the Leader of the Opposition through his representatives Anil Nandlall, Gail Teixeira and Bishop Juan Edghill by Director General of the Ministry of Presidency, Joseph Harmon; Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan during a meeting, on Monday, intended to consider the nominees.

Moments after exiting the meeting at Castellani House, the Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, in the presence of the representatives from both sides, informed reporters that the President nominated eight names for consideration to complement those submitted by the Opposition Leader on Saturday. “This afternoon the President suggested eight names to be considered as well in this hammering out process, and we agreed that we will look at those and tomorrow at 4 o clock we will meet again, at which time the real hammering out will start with respect to finding six names,” Harmon told reporters.

The Opposition Leader’s nominees are: Conservationist, Annette Arjoon-Martins; retired Justice of Appeal, B.S Roy; Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Gerry Gouveia; retired Mayor General, Joseph Singh; Attorney-at-Law, Kashir Khan; former Senior Magistrate, Krishnadatt Persaud; conflict resolution specialist, Lawrence Latchmansingh; retired Major General, Norman McLean; Onesi La Fleur, PSC executive Ramesh Dookhoo; and retired Puisne Judge, William Ramlall.

Last Thursday, President Granger and the Opposition Leader agreed to have their respective technical teams hammer out the names of persons for the post of GECOM chair before the Opposition Leader formally submits a list of six nominees to the President in accordance with Article 161 (2) of the Constitution. Harmon said both teams on Monday renewed their commitment to accelerating the process to have a chairman appointed soon as possible.

“We have committed to work assiduously on a daily basis if necessary, so that we can find six names in the shortest possible time, and I think that is basically our commitment,” the Director General said.

He said it is necessary to have a Chairman of the Elections Commission who has the confidence of the President, Opposition Leader, and the whole of Guyana. “This is important in our view for the people of Guyana to have a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission that both sides, in fact all sides, can find their decision fair and that they represent the best interest of the people of Guyana, and so we are looking to find such a person, whether he or she, that can deliver a fair election that the people of Guyana can feel comfortable with,” he posited.

Noting that the process is in its embryonic stage, Nandlall expressed the hope that the teams would arrive at a consensus soon, noting that both sides have agreed to expedite the process. “It is not going to happen immediately but as the names begin to exchange, hopefully we can continue to find commonality until we eventually arrive at a six that would be mutually acceptable to both the Leader of the Opposition and the President as is contemplated by Article 161 (2) and as the CCJ guided us to,” Nandlall told reporters.

However, Nandlall was keen on pointing out that while the CCJ has advised that the President and the Leader of the Opposition agree to a list of nominees before a formal submission is made, it is the constitutional responsibility of the Opposition Leader to make the submission for consideration by the President. He posited that ongoing meetings are an informal type of exchange before the official submission is made.

But while Nandlall expressed no concern after exiting the meeting at Castellani House, he, less than an hour after, complained bitterly that the President had suggested names for consideration during this first round of meetings with the teams.

In the presence of his colleagues Teixeira and Edghill at the Opposition Leader’s Office, Nandlall contended that the President and Opposition Leader had agreed that the Opposition Leader’s nominees would have been considered first.

“It was our clear understanding that we were going there to consider those 11 names and for the Government to indicate or rather the President’s…delegates in that engagement, to tell us which of the 11 names, the president finds find acceptable and which he does not find acceptable. Low and below when we get there we are confronted with a list from the Government side,” Nandlall complained. According to him, the president’s team informed them that “they had no instructions with respect to the 11 names” submitted by the Opposition.

Weighing in on the matter, Teixeira insisted that the teams must first consider the 11 nominees, and if there are any objections from Government, reasons ought to be given. But during the meeting last Thursday, the Opposition Leader had indicated that he was not adverse to the President submitting names for consideration.

During a press conference at his meeting with the Opposition Leader last Thursday, President Granger said unless and until the Chairman is appointed, the work of the Commission will not be able to move ahead as quickly as possible. The process of appointing a new Chairman for the Elections Commission comes at a time when the country is preparing for early elections as a result of a no-confidence motion brought against the Government last December.