Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 10, 2019 News
Day Two of the consultative process to narrow the list of nominees for the position of chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) ended with President David Granger insisting again that he wants it to be over in a matter of days.
This came after it became known that a second meeting between representatives of the Government and Opposition ended yesterday with five of the 11 names submitted by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, being rejected. Two are distinct possibilities and four names, however, reportedly shortlisted for consideration.
Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, did not immediately disclose names yesterday following that meeting.
On Monday, after the first meeting at Castellani House, the Opposition made it known that the Coalition Government was not acting in good faith after the latter submitted eight names but was not prepared to discuss the 11 names submitted by the Opposition.
The government side include Vice President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon who are representing President David Granger.
The Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo was represented by Gail Teixeira, Anil Nandlall and Juan Edghill.
Under the regulations, the Opposition Leader has to submit a list of six names for the GECOM chair position and during consultations with the President, one name was chosen.
In 2017, three list of names were rejected with the President appointing Justice (ret’d) James Patterson as the chairman.
Since then, a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly has toppled the one-seat majority Coalition Government.
Recently, the Caribbean Court of Justice ruled that the process was flawed and that for a new chairman the two sides must meet and agree on a way forward.
Patterson resigned recently leaving the position vacant and a scramble to fill it as the President has made it clear that he is awaiting a word so that a day for general elections can be announced.
While by regulations the Opposition Leader has to proposed nominees to the President, the recent CCJ ruling has opened up the possibilities for President Granger to also submit a few names, the Government has been insisting.
The sides are expected to meet again tomorrow for the eight names submitted by Government to be considered.
Earliest Time
Yesterday, President Granger in an official statement said that the Government of Guyana is intent on ensuring the conduct of credible elections at the earliest possible date.
“To achieve this, it is pursuing the full implementation of the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the early selection of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission.”
He noted that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on June 18, 2019, decided that the most sensible approach to appointing the Chairman of the Elections Commission was for the Leader of the Opposition and President to communicate with each other, in good faith, and to discuss eligible candidates for the position before the formal submission of a list.
“The aim was to enable the two sides to agree on the names of six persons who fit the eligibility requirements and who are “not unacceptable” to the President.
The Court found that, once the President and Leader of the Opposition have “hammered out” a list of names “not unacceptable” to the President, the list of six persons must then be formally submitted to the President by the Leader of the Opposition and the President must then select the Chairman from among those names.”
Granger pointed out that the Court believes that such an approach would give the President a role in the identification of the six names.
“It would also obviate the possibility that, after the formal presentation of the list, the President could suggest that one or more of the names, or indeed the entire list, is unacceptable. I met the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on 4th July 2019, at the Ministry of the Presidency.
“We discussed the means of selecting a new Chairman of the Elections Commission (GECOM) in accordance with the judgement of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and given the need to ensure that GECOM is allowed to function in an uninterrupted manner.”
Granger noted that the meeting aimed to reach consensus on the way forward for the nomination and appointment of the GECOM Chairman.
“It was agreed that the Leader of the Opposition would submit a list of names of persons for my consideration. That list was submitted. Ms. Gail Teixeira acting on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition, wrote Mr. Joseph Harmon, Director General, Ministry of the Presidency on the 28th June 2019 saying “the Leader of the Opposition is not averse to the President informally suggesting names in their proposed engagement for his consideration.””
According to the President, both sides agreed to establish a joint working group which would short-list the names to six and present the list to the Leader of the Opposition before it is presented to him.
“It was also agreed that the exchange of names, or this submission of names, will include also suggestions which the President presented for inclusion on that list. I said it was up to the Leader of the Opposition to submit the names of persons who had already been submitted on the previous three lists. The Government side is adhering to the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice and to the agreement with the Leader of the Opposition.”
The President also stressed that the Government side remains committed to continuing the dialogue and concluding the selection process within days to enable the Elections Commission to function.
“Once done, Guyanese can expect credible elections in the shortest possible time. The President, acting on the advice of the Elections Commission that it is ready to conduct elections, will proclaim a date for those elections. This necessitates the Chairman of GECOM being in place as early as possible.”
The Names
The eight names from the Government list are Patterson; Kesaundra Alves, a lawyer who is the Chair for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation; businessman and former parliamentarian, Kads Khan; former executive of the People’s National Congress Reform, Stanley Ming; Justices (ret’d) Claudette La Bennett and Stanley Moore; former Solicitor-General, Kim Kyte and Dr. Aubrey Armstrong, an economist.
The 11 names for the Opposition include environmentalist Annette Arjoon-Martins; B S Roy (retired Justice of Appeal), businessman Gerry Gouveia; Joseph Singh (Retired Major General and former GECOM Chairman), attorney-at-law Kashir Khan; former magistrate Krisnadatt Persaud; Lawrence Lachmansingh; Norman McLean (Retired Major General); Onesi La Fleur, private sector executive Ramesh Dookhoo and retired Puisne Judge William Ramlall.
Those who pulled out were attorneys-at-law Nadia Sagar, Sanjeev Datadin, Christopher Ram, Teni Housty and Oneidge Walrond-Allicock, Professor James Rose and activist Ryhaan Shah.
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
Apr 23, 2024
Kaieteur Sports – Over the weekend, the prestigious Lusignan Golf Club played host to the highly anticipated AMCHAM Golf Tournament, drawing golf enthusiasts and professionals alike from across...Kaieteur News – Just recently, the PPC determined that it does not have the authority to vitiate a contract which was... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]