AFTER a hectic period of back and forth between the two political sides, there is now a GECOM Chairperson in place in the person of Justice Claudette Singh. She was sworn in on Monday in the presence of members and officials of the government and opposition along with other important State officials. Also present were the other GECOM commissioners with whom the Chairperson would be working going forward.

For a moment, there were smiles and handshakes — a picture which is quite rare in our contentious political environment. Even if it does not immediately translate into universal assurance, it does, at the least, allow the country to catch its breath.

We say the above to reiterate the view that there are still significant hurdles to overcome as the country marches towards what promises to be a bruising elections campaign.

Many observers have already pointed to the enormous pressure that the GECOM chair is likely to face as the political sides position themselves to be the electoral victors. Others have already sought to give her public advice regarding pivotal issues such as the ongoing house-to-house registration which is likely to be the first major undertaking of the fully-constituted GECOM.

The two delegations of commissioners have already shown that they hold diametrically opposed positions on the merits of the exercise. One side has even questioned its legality. Towards this end, the matter is currently engaging the attention of the court. This publication is on record as supporting the exercise as a prerequisite for a clean Voters’ List which we believe is essential to ensuring the integrity of the elections. While we note the arguments of the other side, we hold the view that the constitutional imperatives of the no-confidence vote should be balanced with the imperatives of electoral integrity.

The new GECOM chair has sounded the correct tones in her first public utterances after being sworn in. She has laid down the line — she will not be guided by political arguments from the hustings, but by the law. In other words, she intends to be impartial and even-handed. That would indeed be the test of her tenure, as it was for previous chairpersons. The spotlight on the chairperson, of course, arises from the fact that she would more likely than not be called to use her casting vote to break deadlock on the commissions. One hopes that this would be more the exception than the rule, but past experience does not inspire much optimism in this regard.

The GECOM Chair would also be called upon to ensure order on the commission since the PPP commissioners have developed a penchant for disruption of the work of the body through the use of tactics such as unnecessary walkouts, boycotts and public chastisement of their colleagues. It was encouraging to hear Justice Singh give early notice of her disapproval of such tactics. According to her:

“I endeavour, I believe in inclusivity and I will speak to everybody and I do not believe in people walking out when they are in disagreement. I believe in sitting down and hammering out whatever is the problem; not the media will try our problems. We will have to determine our problems,”

We endorse her intended approach and hope that the other commissioners heed her warning. While they were nominated by their respective parties, once they take the oath of office it is expected that they would act in accordance with the dictates of the commission which is in principle a non-partisan institution. The hallmark of a functional plural society is the willingness of political parties to observe the principle of non-interference in the work of autonomous institutions. It is also one of the stern tests of the parties’ commitment to service to country over narrow partisan interests.

So, as the chairperson calls the commission to order, Guyana would be watching with keen interest. The skills she developed as a legal practitioner both on and off the bench would be called upon as she navigates the murky waters. She would obviously be aware that her tenure would be the most important one since the Jimmy Carter brokered agreement in 1990. As she said, she knows that the job is a controversial one. We wish her well.