By Rajiv Bisnauth

WITH elections for a legitimate Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) set to be staged this Friday at the Umana Yana, President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), Hilbert Foster, said that democracy at the administrative level has prevailed.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, has set February 26 as the date for the long-awaited election of the new executive of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

The minister’s move stems from consultations with CWI, pursuant to the requirements of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act and on the heels of the DCB elections held last Friday.

“I think It’s 12 to 13 years late, and it’s long overdue. I welcomed the Minister move, and as far as I am concern, democracy has won, and whoever win the elections should have the fair chance to take Guyana’s cricket to another level”, Foster said during an invited comment by Chronicle Sport yesterday.

Meanwhile, when asked if he has an interest in running for the GCB’s top post, Foster, the experienced cricket administrator said “I am not interested in the Presidency, but I am willing to serve in any other capacities…my priorities is my club (Rose Hall Town, Youth and Sports Club), and the Berbice Cricket Board, where I intent to dedicate as least two more years to Berbice’s cricket, then I will call it quit”.

To date, only newly-elected Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) President, Bissoondyal Singh, has expressed his desire in running for the top post.

However, Singh had said a definitive decision will be made following consultations with stakeholders. 

On the other hand, Fizul Bacchus, who holds the post as the current GCB President, told Chronicle Sport over the weekend that he will confirm in the coming days his position as regards running for the GCB top post once more.

Further, according to Foster, the BCB met last evening, and through a democratic process has elected their list of delegates, which will be submitted to Guyana’s Cricket Ombudsman, Attorney-at-Law Kamal Ramkarran, through the board’s lawyer.

Ramkarran has confirmed, in a notice, that County boards – Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo, have until February 25 at 16:00hrs to submit their list of delegates to the Cricket Ombudsman at his Lot 2 Avenue of the Republic office.

In the meantime, Singh indicted to Chronicle Sport that the DCB will submit their list of delegates to the Cricket Ombudsman sometime tomorrow. However, it is unclear if the ECB will submit their list of delegates.

GCB has been embroiled in controversy from one court battle to the next for nearly a decade now. Elections have not been held since 2012 and only last month the persons holding themselves as executive members of the body were deemed illegal by the Guyana government.