APNU and opposition leader David Granger has completed consultations with the AFC on filling the vacancy among the opposition-nominated members on the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) and an announcement on the new member is to be made shortly.
Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday, Granger said he has consulted with the AFC on the issue and has settled on a choice of a person to take up the position left vacant after the recent death of Robert Williams.
“I have completed my consultations and we hope an announcement could be made [shortly],” Granger said. “We spoke with the AFC and they have made a recommendation,” he said.
Granger was not prepared to reveal the choice, saying that he had done what was constitutionally required of him.
Speaking to this newspaper, APNU deputy leader Dr Rupert Roopnaraine said Granger had solicited recommendations from other organisations and bodies so as to have as wide a scope as possible for a suitable candidate. He said the need is to find someone who is capable, with a grasp of the issues and who will be professional.
“[Granger] is attaching a lot more importance to these aspects [of the choice] rather than on political affiliations,” said Roopnaraine. Asked whether the APNU had nominated someone for the position, Roopnaraine said this was not so.
This newspaper understands that former PNCR MP Aubrey Norton is being rumoured as the preferred nominee for APNU.
AFC’s Executive Member Khemraj Ramjattan expressed disappointment that Granger has not yet made an announcement on the person selected. He noted that the PPP has already moved ahead to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Moen McDoom, with Jaya Manickchand.
“The leader of the opposition did indicate to me that he wanted my recommendation. He consulted with us and we recommended David Patterson,” he said, while noting that Granger told him he wanted to consult with other bodies. “David [Patterson] suits the spot. He has been our point man on Gecom,” Ramjattan said.
On March 29, APNU announced that it was pressing ahead with the replacement of Williams even though it continues to press for reforms of Gecom, saying that the country cannot go into another election with Gecom as it is currently constituted.
In March, the AFC and APNU had commenced the engagement on the vacancy.
APNU executive Joseph Harmon had said whether the vacancy on Gecom is filled or not, it would not change what the party has been saying about the need to revamp the entity, as has been recommended by the various observer missions that came for the 2011 general and regional elections.
But Harmon made the point that it would not be in the best interest to leave the seat vacant, even with the many concerns, since decisions could be taken without the opposition being properly represented there. He said that there is a need to maintain the status quo until such time as the recommended changes have been put in place.
Basil Williams of APNU had pointed out at a press conference last month that some of the reforms the opposition wants to see have been recommended since the conclusion of the 2006 elections.
He said the government has chosen to ignore these recommendations.
He stated that Gecom was converted from an independent commission and was made a budget agency under the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, putting its funding under the care and charge of Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon.
Williams said that there is need for an independent Gecom and this is something that must be addressed in the short term.
