Commissioner for the government’s side at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Sase Gunraj has expressed his disappointment with the Opposition after the A Partnership for National Unity was a no-show for a meeting.
When contacted on Wednesday, Commissioner Gunraj told Guyana Standard that it was the Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton who requested a meeting be held with GECOM regarding a number of issues.
The Commissioner claimed that GECOM requested from the Opposition a correspondence listing the issues that were to be discussed. According to Gunraj, the election body did not receive this document.
“Yesterday afternoon we were informed that they had no notice of the meeting and that they had some internal issue or maybe a miscommunication and as such the meeting was canceled,”Commissioner Gunraj said.
He further noted that another meeting was rescheduled for next Tuesday with the Opposition. Commissioner Gunraj said that while the meeting has been rescheduled, there has been no confirmation from the Opposition.
The Commissioner however registered his disappointment with what he claimed was a “blatant (act of) disrespect” towards the election body.
“When someone makes an appointment at my law office and they don’t turn up I believe it is disrespectful, especially without a legitimate excuse. I don’t think we received a proper excuse. Thankfully, it was a statutory meeting so we had other things to discuss,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of APNU Shaneika Haynes explained to Guyana Standard that the Opposition received a letter confirming the meeting was to be had but the document was not received on time.
“The letter (from GECOM) never made it in time to the Office of the Chairman (APNU), hence we weren’t aware of the scheduled meeting. When we were made aware of the timings, a call was made immediately to GECOM and a date was rescheduled for the meeting,” Haynes said.
She noted that the Opposition is now awaiting an official timing from GECOM for the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday.
Yesterday, during the party’s weekly press conference, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton said GECOM had requested specifics on the issues that were to be raised at the upcoming meeting. He told the press that the party was in the process of complying with this request.
