GECOM appointment conformed to constitution – WPA

According to the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), the selection of the GECOM Chairman has followed the letter of the law and constitution but it said that neither side is committed to a solution that would be acceptable to both.

In a statement yesterday on the unilateral appointment by President David Granger of retired justice James Patterson as GECOM Chair, the WPA said: “It is our conviction that, on strict construction, the selection procedure used so far has followed the letter of the law and the constitution, if not the spirit. To be very clear, neither side is committed to a solution that is satisfactory to both. The political environment does not favour this. Further, their constituents who make up the bulk of the masses of Guyanese people, do not expect such an outcome”.

A member of APNU, the main partner in the governing coalition, the WPA added “There was never going to be a good outcome to the appointment of the GECOM Chair without prior Constitutional Reform. This could be proven true for all appointments that require President/Leader of Opposition agreement”.