President David Granger has discretion to reject an entire list of nominees for the post of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) as being unacceptable, but it is not “absolute,” according to Chief Justice Roxane George SC, who has also found that he is required to give reasons for his decision and his failure to do so already could be subject to judicial review.
“The submission of the list does not mean that the President is obliged to accept the list or the persons named in it. If the President is of the view that the list is deficient either in totality or in the names that have been included, he can exercise his discretion to deem the entire list unacceptable. He must, however, give reasons for so doing so that it is known why there was a rejection so that he could properly move to apply the proviso to article 161(2) which allows the appointment of persons from the judicial category only. While the President is immune from suit, his decisions and actions are not. Thus, whether in the exercise of his discretion there has been compliance with the Constitution is justiciable,” Justice George states in her written ruling on the interpretation of Article 161(2) of the Constitution, which was released on Monday, just over three months after the oral ruling was handed down.
