–draws attention to silence of civil society groups

GENERAL Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that he supports Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh’s decision to file an official report with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) over alleged threatening comments made by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Coretta McDonald.

During a weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo said that Singh has reported this matter to the police, as well as the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir.
He said he called out civil society for not publicly condemning the attacks on the elections chairperson.

“I saw the Chairman of the Elections Commission writing the Commissioner of Police, rightfully so… Not a word from the NGOs about [APNU members] threatening the life of the Chairman of GECOM, or a woman disparaging another woman,” Jagdeo said.

Over the past few years, members of the main political opposition, APNU, have maintained continuous threats against Justice Singh’s character and her person. This is in addition to calling for her to be fired.

The party claims that the Chairperson has not been fair since she has not been agreeing with positions held by APNU, and conversely has agreed with positions held by the governing PPP/C.
Jagdeo, however, accused APNU of being duplicitous for accusing Chairperson Singh of bias, when she does not rule with that party, but the party did not hold this feeling when she rule in favour of their party.

Jagdeo reminded that it was Justice Singh, during her time on the bench, who ruled against the PPP/C in an elections case contesting the 1997 elections.

“Now, it was the same Claudette Singh who was a Judge in Guyana when [PNCR] filed a case after the 1997 elections that we [PPP/C] had illegally used the ID card for voting in the 1997 elections. So, Claudette Singh was not a PPP/C stooge then or a poodle,” Jagdeo said.