THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), by a majority vote, has decided not to renew the contract of its Legal Officer, Attorney-at-Law Kurt Da Silva, who was appointed in 2022.
People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Attorney-at-Law Sase Gunraj, confirmed that the decision was made on Tuesday following a vote by its seven-member Commission. The Guyana Chronicle has learnt that Da Silva’s three-year contract ended last Monday.

As a result, the issue of renewal was raised at a Commission meeting on Tuesday, when the three PPP-nominated GECOM Commissioners, along with Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh, voted in favour of not renewing his contract.
This publication understands that the opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners abstained from voting and walked out of the meeting.
Addressing the matter, Gunraj said: “The contract came to the commission for its consideration and views were given on both sides—[PPP] and A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). At [Tuesday’s] meeting, Justice Singh rendered her vote and gave very elaborate reasons as justification for voting against the renewal of the Legal Officer’s contract.”

He highlighted that some of Justice Singh’s reasons referenced a recent court case filed by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Chief Scrutineer, Carol Smith-Joseph.

GECOM’s decision comes just weeks after GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Vishnu Persaud, distanced himself from submissions made by Da Silva in that very case.
In the case, Smith-Joseph requested the court to issue an order compelling GECOM to verify that a registrant resides at the address provided for inclusion in the National Register of Registrants (NRR) and for voting purposes.
Da Silva had, among other things, largely agreed with Smith-Joseph’s position that residency in administrative regions is a constitutional requirement for electors to vote in regional elections.
However, Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire, SC, ruled that residency is not a requirement for either General or Regional elections, and that individuals are free to provide any address at the time of registration.

NOTHING UNUSUAL
Gunraj emphasised that there was nothing unusual about GECOM’s decision, noting that the contract of Da Silva’s predecessor was also not renewed.
He also criticised APNU+AFC-nominated GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander for describing the Chief Justice’s decision as “myopic.”

Gunraj stated: “Everyone is entitled to their view; however, the ruling of the court is the ruling of the court until/[if] it is set aside. I have also seen in the media an intention to appeal the ruling. Well, we will see where that goes.”
According to Gunraj, the APNU+AFC-nominated GECOM Commissioners, who are now “championing the cause” of Da Silva, have been raising concerns about his conduct for months.
“That conduct and those complaints are well documented in our minutes. A lot of those complaints were referenced in their own contributions in relation to the renewal or otherwise of the Legal Officer’s contract. But in their view, perhaps for reasons best known to them, those complaints ought not to have formed a basis for the non-renewal,” he said.

In response to claims by opposition-aligned commissioners about inconsistencies in the chairperson’s vote, Gunraj urged them to engage in some self-reflection, pointing out the contradictions in their own positions regarding the non-renewal of Da Silva’s contract.

He reiterated that these commissioners themselves had previously raised complaints about the Legal Officer.
No formal statement has been issued by GECOM detailing the specific grounds for the contract termination.
When reached for comment on GECOM’s decision, Da Silva stated that he had nothing to say “at this time”.

GECOM’s decision to part ways with the attorney comes at a time when Guyana is preparing for General and Regional Elections due later this year.
Da Silva served as the Chief Legal Adviser to the commission and was responsible for providing legal guidance on matters related to electoral laws, regulations, and procedures.