Court could be way out of GECOM Chairman impasse but decision would have to be given quickly – UK High Commissioner

Greg Quinn

UK High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn says that the impasse that has arisen over the appointment of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) could be addressed via the courts but if that is done a decision must be rendered speedily.

Greg Quinn

In a comment to the Sunday Stabroek on the furore that has arisen from President David Granger’s appointment on Thursday of 84-year-old Justice James Patterson as the Chairman, Quinn said his personal preference would have been for the candidate to have come from one of the three lists submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
Quinn said:”As we all agree the constitution should be paramount. Everything must flow from it. The President and his supporters say he has acted within the constitution, the Leader of the Opposition and his supporters say he hasn’t.

“So we are at an impasse. The only way through that could be to go via the courts. But if that course is followed then the court must decide quickly. Unlike in the case of the 2015 elections petition which is still languishing.

“Speaking personally I think it would have been better for the president to have chosen a name from one of the 3 lists. But he clearly felt that was not possible.”