Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 20, 2017 News
President David Granger has reaffirmed his commitment to uphold the Constitution in relations to appointment of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, (GECOM).
Speaking with members of the press following a swearing in ceremony for Judges at State House yesterday, Granger said that interpretation of Article 161(2) by Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George- Wiltshire adds credence to his belief that the GECOM Chairman must be able to function independently and impartially in the execution of his duties.
The President stressed that the role of a GECOM Chairman is a critical one.
“The Chief Justice gave a ruling based on her perception of the law and I will continue to act within my perception of the Constitution. I will not appoint somebody that I do not consider fit and proper”
On Monday, Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire handed down a ruling in response to concerns raised over President Granger’s interpretation of the constitution as it regards the appointment of a GECOM chairman.
The court action had been filed by businessman Marcel Gaskin. Justice George-Wiltshire noted that the GECOM chairman does not necessarily have to be a judicial officer, or a person qualified as such.
The person, she noted, however, must possess integrity, honesty and impartiality. She stressed that the words ‘fit and proper’ can apply to persons from a number of professions or calling.
The judge noted that Article 162 (2) of the Constitution speaks to the need for dialogue and compromise. As such, she noted that Granger in rejecting the list provided by the opposition should give reason for the rejection of the names as it would give an indication of those to be accepted.
But in response to questions by the press yesterday, Granger said that he will only relent to what is stipulated by the Constitution.
“If you can show me the Article of the Constitution, which requires me to give a reason, I will comply with the Constitution but I will not do what the Constitution does not require me to do,” he said.
Following the ruling a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said that Chief Justice upheld the Government’s conviction that it is the President who must determine whether the list of nominees submitted by the Leader of the Opposition for the position of Chairmanship of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is acceptable.
The Chief Justice also confirmed in her ruling that it is the President, acting in his own deliberate judgment, who must determine whether a person is ‘fit and proper’.
According to the statement, the Chief Justice further said that the Head of State is not obligated to select a person from the six names on a list of which he has determined positively that the persons thereon are unacceptable as fit and proper persons for appointment.
The statement outlined that the Chief Justice in her ruling stressed that the President must consider each person unless the President provided the Leader of the Opposition with guidelines of who is unacceptable.
“President Granger did provide the Leader of the Opposition with a list of criteria based on his interpretation of the Constitution, for a person to be qualified for the position of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission in a letter sent on March 16, 2017. The Leader of the Opposition did not object to those criteria and submitted a second list.”
The Chief Justice ruled that the President did not have to wait for the submission of a new list. He, according to the Constitution, could have gone ahead and appointed a Chairman, having rejected the first list,” the statement added further.
However, the ruling did not sit well with the Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo. Jagdeo in a subsequent statement said “I am informed that in the course of her ruling, the Honourable Chief Justice is interpreted to have said that if the President deems every name on a list as unacceptable, then the proviso to Article 161 applies.”
“If this report is correct, we respectfully take issue with this aspect of the Chief Justice’s ruling. We maintain most resolutely that the proviso only applies when no list has been submitted. Once a list has been submitted, the proviso has no applicability.”
Mr. Jagdeo contended that the proviso to Article 162 of the Constitution was not placed before the Court for its interpretation, nor was it part of any of the questions posed to the Court, nor was it the subject of any legal submissions, either from the Applicant’s, nor the Guyana Bar Association’s nor his Attorneys-at-Law. It is therefore rather strange that such a proposition appears to form part of the ruling in the case.
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