Dear Editor,
THE appointment of Vishnu Persaud as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), is most welcome, encouraging, and a step pointing towards some level of incisive decision-making at the level of the commission. However, much more is required to realign GECOM to an institution of national embrace, through its review where necessary, and implementation of fair and transparent policies worthy of our citizens’ trust.

Given the recent elections milieu which almost brought our country to its knees, Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh will have to give that superb leadership to the commission. This is necessary, since the structure of the commission itself lends to the need for strong, assertive positions from the chairperson, since there is much evidence of some commissioners playing dubious bi-partisan roles contrary to their constitutional mandate.

The position APNU+AFC commissioners took in support of the GECOM Secretariat’s preparation for the March 2020 elections together with their public assault on the commission’s decisions related procedures and the final results is quite despicable. The recent Vincent Alexander public attack on the chairperson, given her rationalisation of the best candidate for the CEO position is slanderous and leaves much to be desired.

Consequently, the role of the commissioners and the GECOM Secretariat will have to be demarcated. The approach by the commission regarding delegation of responsibilities must have emphatic and robust monitoring counter-checks where they are to be applied. This should be done together with strengthened policies; commission-approved Standard Operating Procedures and directives outlining the scope of performance defined for compliance by officials of the secretariat. contributed to by a number of the senior administrative staff of its secretariat.

We can no longer accept the CEO usurping the authority and responsibility of the commission without approval, and one who then turns around and challenges the commission to whom he reports in the courts of law. Of course, the results of such undercurrents are clear and these are evidenced by the almost unchecked fraudulent contribution by a number of the senior administrative staff from the secretariat who were charged and placed before the courts.

The immediate task of the commission is to win the confidence and trust of the nation through several internal reviews, particularly related to staff selections and financial policies. The filling of all vacancies for the advertised posts must be carefully done as all people employed must be untainted with regard to corrupt activities. Hence, the stained persons who were working at GECOM who reapply for work must be carefully screened and approved on established criteria, particularly for senior vacancies. Vetting for junior staff vacancies must also be thorough and must be done with some level of balance.

GECOM will also have to immediately address the issue of replacement of national identification cards. Given the delays caused by the last elections debacle, the commission is far behind time in respect of the holding of Local Government Elections (LGEs). Therefore, it is imperative that GECOM advance immediately, the task of updating the Register of Registrants. To this end, a period of continuous registration will serve to make provision for all those youths, 14 years and over, to be registered. It follows that the subsequent period of Claims and Objection will also have to be done by competent persons.

There is no doubt that future audits of GECOM will be very revealing given the issues raised by the auditor-general several years ago and the lack of cooperation by the previous CEO. Vishnu Persaud as the new CEO will have his hands full, but with the commission’s concurrence, will have to immediately take an inventory of all what they have in the stores and conduct a needs assessment of all the materials, supplies, and equipment to run the commission effectively.

The chief election officer must be also thorough in his takeover process to establish a basis from which counterchecks could be made. This will serve well for the building of trust and confidence. This new-look GECOM Secretariat will have to work with a plan and, therefore, be diligent in that they will have to carefully put together a work programme for the year 2022.

Regarding the immediate task of holding LGEs, GECOM will have to conduct public education to bring public awareness for the registration commencement period and the related procedures for uplifting identification cards. The production and distribution of ID cards must be done in a very thorough way, while GECOM must also revisit the shifting of the many boundaries that were done arbitrarily by the previous CEO.

The GECOM Secretariat under the leadership of Vishnu Persaud and his team will need the support of all our people. To win our trust, there must not be any secret deals; all activities must be transparent and accountable. In context, professionalism is required and will be demanded.

Yours sincerely,
Neil Kumar