Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (retired) Claudette Singh has supported the continued employment of the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield. The body had decided to renew his contract ahead of the March 2020 polls.
However, there seems to be division in the camp as commissioners have different views on the matter.
Opposition-aligned commissioner, Sase Gunraj told media operatives outside GECOM’s Kingston office that the renewal of the contract was a bad move.
“The Chief Elections Officer (CEO)’s contract has been renewed. I have asked that the matter be deferred until after the elections have been concluded because I believe that the true test of the performance of the CEO, would be these elections,” Gunraj said.
The chair disagreed and voted that Lowenfield’s contract be renewed, he reported.
Gunraj said that he and his fellow opposition-aligned colleagues “abstained” from voting.
He said that there was no urgency since the contract would have still “had some life” after the electoral process.
The commissioner said that a clause in the contract stipulates that the CEO, three months prior to the contract’s expiration, can signal request or desire for the renewal of the contract.
Lowenfield did so, Gunraj confirmed.
Meanwhile, government-aligned commissioner, Vincent Alexander said that renewal of the contract is the logical thing to do. By renewing the contract, the CEO will have that extra encouragement to take on the massive challenge that lies before him, Alexander reasoned. To not renew the contract would be “inhumane”, he added.
“If he’s given notice and his contract is coming to an end, then why should we delay the reappointment? In fact, to reappoint the CEO will give him the kind of environment for him to proceed without any uncertainty abou4t his future into the elections,” the commissioner said.
Alexander said the commission will be meeting tomorrow to iron out the issues regarding the use of data from the truncated house-to-house registration, and the matter relating to the display of names of persons who did not uplift their National Identification cards from 2008.
