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‘Non-Renewal of Legal Officer’s contract a political spite’ – WPA
Kaieteur News- The Working People’s Alliance (WPA), on Wednesday, criticised the recent decision by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) not to renew the contract of its legal officer, Kurt Da Silva.
According to the WPA, the non-renewal is essentially out of ‘political spite’ and raises concerns over GECOM’s ability to conduct impartial elections.
Executive member of WPA, Dr. David Hinds
In a statement, the WPA condemned the decision, stating it was “yet another lethal nail in the coffin of democracy and fairness at that pivotal constitutional body.” The WPA also accused the Chairperson of being impartial by siding with the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), asserting that she “has gone against her own judgment.”
“Having previously given Mr. Da Silva a high passing grade, she now joins the PPP commissioners in dismissing him. This is a blatant case of getting rid of an employee not because of bad performance, but out of political spite,” WPA stated.
On Tuesday, GECOM voted against the renewal of Da Silva’s contract, following a dispute regarding a residency case. The vote saw three government-nominated commissioners—Clement Rohee, Sase Gunraj, and Manoj Narayan—oppose the renewal. The decision was supported by GECOM’s Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh.
The WPA raised further concerns that the legal officer should not be “dismissed” for giving his opinion to the court about this year’s elections.
GECOM’s opposition-nominated commissioner, Vincent Alexander, had said Singh justified her decision by stating that Da Silva’s legal opinion could “potentially upset GECOM’s work,” including the possibility of delaying the upcoming election.
The WPA questioned, “Since when has the upsetting of a timetable been more important than the law?” The political party continued, “This recent decision represents nothing short of tyranny of the majority. Under such circumstances, GECOM cannot be relied on to conduct impartial elections.”
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