President David Granger has nominated eight persons for the post of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, including former Chairman Justice (Retired) James Patterson who formally resigned as the election body’s head two weeks ago.
The other names submitted by President Granger are businessman Stanley Ming; Kessaundra Alves; Dr Aubrey Armstrong; Kadim Khan; Kim Kyte-Thomas; Justice Claudette LaBennett; and Stanley Moore.
President Granger’s list comes on the heels of a list of 11 persons submitted by Jagdeo. The names submitted by Jagdeo are Gerry Gouveia (Captain); Joseph Singh (Retired Major General); Annette Arjoon-Martins; BS Roy (Retired Justice of Appeal); Kashir Khan (attorney-at-law); Krishnadatt Persaud (former Senior Magistrate); Lawrence Latchmansingh; Norman McLean (Retired Major General); Onesi La Fleur; Ramesh Dookhoo and William Ramlall (Retired Puisne Judge).
Earlier this evening, teams from the Government and Parliamentary Opposition met to “hammer out” names. President Granger was represented by 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. Meanwhile, the Opposition was represented by PPP Executive Members Gail Teixeira, Anil Nandlall, and Bishop Juan Edghill.
According to Nandlall, the meeting with both sides could have gone better.
He told media operatives that his team went to Castellani House with the intention to consider the names of the eleven persons that were submitted by Jagdeo over the weekend. Instead, he said, rather than discussing those names his team was furnished with a list of the president’s nominees. The politician said that this goes against the “good faith” that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had encouraged in relation to the nomination process.
“We were going to the meeting to consider those 11 names, and the representatives or president, to indicate which one that the Head of State finds acceptable…Lo and behold, when we get there we are confronted with a list from the government side and the members of the President’s team informs us that they have no instruction in relation to the 11 names. That, we believe, violates the good faith which is intended for this process to succeed,” Nandlall lamented.
He also accused some of the individuals submitted by the President of being “politically connected to the government.”
Just this week, Jagdeo had indicated that the submission of names by President Granger was not something the PPP was against. He had, however, indicated that only the Leader of the Opposition has the principal, fundamental duty, and function to submit six names for consideration.
Delegations from both sides are scheduled to meet again tomorrow.
The post of GECOM Chairman became vacant on Monday, June 24, 2019 when Patterson resigned following the ruling of the CCJ that his appointment was “flawed” and thereby unconstitutional.
