… Elections timeframe must comply with statutory guidelines
… electoral expert slams opposition for adopting ‘irrational position’

The Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh and her Commission, must comply with the statutory guidelines outlined in the Elections Law Amendment Act; to do the contrary would be to breach the Constitution and the Laws of Guyana, an electoral expert has warned.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, in rejecting the March 2020 election timeline proposed by the Elections’ Secretariat, has threatened that there will be widespread protest actions across the country after September 18, if a 2019 date for General and Regional Elections is not set.

But the electoral expert said that Jagdeo and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) have adopted an irrational position. It was explained that the Elections Commission, as advised by the Secretariat must act in conformity with the Constitution of Guyana and the Elections Laws (Amendment) Act of 2000 and the Representation of People Act, Chapter 1:03.
The electoral expert made it clear that neither Justice Singh nor her Commission can set a timeframe for elections independent of the Secretariat, and in total defiance of the Constitution and the Elections Laws (Amendment) Act which have set out clear guidelines.
“If, for example, the chair informs the president that elections could be held by December 25, how will the Secretariat operationalize the timeline, the statutory guidelines within that time frame? It means that we can find ourselves in a lot of shambles and in breach of the Constitution because you advise on a timeframe but ideally the work plan cannot fit in the statutory timelines,” the expert reasoned.

There are approximately 35 statutory guidelines that the Elections Commission must abide by as outlined in the Representation of the People Act. According to Section 9 of the Representation of the People Act, the notice of the date for submission of the list of Candidates (Nominations Day) cannot be done no later than 32 days before Elections. Added to that, the act states that candidates must be informed of defects in the list of candidates not later than 30 days before the election, and by the 29th day before the election is held, corrections must be submitted. Those are just three of the 35 statutory guidelines established under the act.

In the case of the revised List of Electors, the expert pointed out that it must be posted for 21 days in accordance with the Law. “If you put it for 10 days, and then somebody, after that 10-day period expires, realises that his name is not on the list but he would have registered and would have gotten the pink slip, that person could carry GECOM to court because the list was not posted for 21 days as statutorily required,” the electoral expert explained.

GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Warde had made a similar case earlier this week when the elections body rejected claims that it was stalling the elections. In a statement, she explained that the operations of the Secretariat are guided by the decisions of the Commission in conformity with the Elections Laws of the country.

In the work plan submitted by the Secretariat, Nominations Day was placed 55 days before elections day as against the usual timeline – 32-34 days prior to elections day. “The law is clear that Nominations Day should be no later than 32 days before elections day. Therefore, any time before that amount of days, even if it’s 55 days, is acceptable and in conformity with the laws of Guyana,” Warde explained. She made it clear that the shift in the time is justifiable and within the confines of the law, adding that it is not intended to delay the holding of elections as suggested by the article.

“Historically, when all the lists of candidates were submitted and once [there are] no errors for corrections, the ballots were sent off to be printed. As such, some mandatory statutory timelines which took as much as 10 days after Nominations Day were bypassed and the contending parties’ lists of candidates were approved and sent off for the production of ballots. However, the Operations Sub-Committee, which is co-chaired by Commissioners Sase Gunraj and Charles Corbin decided, at a meeting on July 17, 2018, that all statutory timelines must be adhered to,” Warde said as she explained the decision resulting in the gap. She noted that the proposal was subsequently presented to, and adopted by, the full commission.

Added to that, the GECOM PRO pointed to the fact that the ballots are printed overseas and would take approximately 21 days to be produced by the service provider. “Shipping is likely to be 5-7 days which will take us to roughly 28 days,” Warde added.
Upon arrival in Guyana, she explained, a per cent has to be extracted to ship overseas to Resident Ambassadors to allow for them to vote. This process, she outlined, takes as much as 14 days to be completed.

“Consequent to the foregoing and in the present circumstances, expediting those activities means that Nominations Day must be held at least 55 days prior to elections day. It must, however, be emphasised that the timelines presented are in draft and the commission can determine whether it will reverse the decision to remove nine days for appeals after Nominations Day, once all the lists of candidates are error free,” Warde explained.
The Elections Commission, she said, remains committed to ensuring it delivers credible elections within the shortest possible time and has no motive to delay the conduct of those elections.