Dear Editor,
Well folks, at last we managed to have a meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission today (Thursday) after Tuesday’s statutory meeting was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. Commissioners Alexander and Corbin were both unavailable so the Chairman invoked Article 226 (5) of the Constitution which provides for the meeting to be held on the Thursday following the adjourned Tuesday meeting and for decisions to be made with or without a quorum.
Today, however, there was a quorum, only Commissioner Alexander being absent, so the meeting was finally held after a hiatus of two weeks during which there was D-day and E-day, a very packed two weeks for GECOM.
One would then expect that there would be full reports of the activities of the last two weeks, but with GECOM expectations are not always, in fact never, met.
What we were able to get after much to-ing and fro-ing, was, what the CEO calls the Preliminary results of the Local Government Elections, for all 80 Local Authority Areas. The CEO admitted that all 80 Returning Officers (RO) had made their declarations of the results of all the individual elections, and these were put on a broadsheet by the secretariat. My argument was that the results having been declared by the Returning Officers had to be final, not preliminary, but that was still not admitted by the CEO. Nevertheless, each Commissioner was given a hard copy of the ‘preliminary’ results as compiled by GECOM’s secretariat. I was assured that the RO of the Municipality of Mabaruma had made his declaration of the results contrary to what was reported in the press today (Thursday).
I also raised the issue that a person named Gavin Sparman of the APNU had been declared the winner of a constituency in the La Grange/Nismes NDC and that I had been given information that the said Gavin Sparman was closely related to Andrea Sparman who was GECOM’s Supervisor for the said LAA. I asked the CEO if he was aware, and pointed out that if the information was true, the Supervisor should have been re-assigned to another district. The CEO did not admit or deny knowledge of such a relationship but Commissioner Corbin was of the opinion that the Supervisor had nothing to do with the actual running of the elections and since the RO was the person in charge, there was no conflict to be avoided! I asked that his comments be put in full and kept for future reference, for an occasion when the shoe is on another foot!
Commissioner Trotman’s remarks were centred around an issue with tally sheets, which was resolved by the Operations Sub-committee of which he is a member, but seems to want a Commission of Inquiry into the work of the IT department and its Manager. I, myself like Commissioners Gunraj, Corbin and Benn, agreed that an investigation should be carried out on that as well as many other issues, by the Secretariat and Operations Sub- committee then brought to the full Commission with their recommendations, for discussions and decisions which would help in the conduct of future elections. Commissioner Trotman grudgingly acquiesced, although I got the distinct impression, which I voiced, that he had his heart set on a full scale Commission of Inquiry not unlike so many we have had recently, with recommendations for some punitive actions against certain staff members.
The Chairman disallowed Commissioner Benn from making any remarks during that agenda item, and again disallowed him from raising his issues under ‘any other business’! The Chairman seems bent on shutting Commissioner Benn up completely!
The minutes of the last meeting of October 30, 2018 were read and corrected, mostly by the Chairman who then asked for someone to move the adoption. I said that since the last meeting had been so long ago, and I could not be sure that there were any omissions, I would not in good conscience move that motion, after which the Chairman asked Commissioner Trotman to do so. And lo and behold, Commissioner Trotman declined because according to him, since I had declined to do it, he was following my lead! My, my, Commissioner Trotman following my lead! I almost laughed out loud when Commissioner Corbin also declined to move the motion and the Chairman did so himself and then asked for a seconder, upon which the Legal Officer/Secretary assured him that his motion did not need one!
The whole reading of the minutes and what followed was something out of comedy central! And Yes, this is what passed for a serious meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission today.
We were promised a report by the CEO on the 2018 LGE by the first week of December, 2018 and when asked about the report of the 2016 LGE, he said there was a report under the hand of the former DCEO which he promised to share with us after nearly 3 years.
There was mention about the disappearing electoral ink, my finger remains unstained, and of Laws which need to be amended, but that was put for another day since the Chairman was very eager to have the meeting adjourned at 4pm. So since next Tuesday is also a National Holiday, the meeting was adjourned and Wednesday November 21, 2018 at 1 pm was named as the date and time for the next meeting.
That’s all for today folks, until next Wednesday when I hope we can have a more serious and meaningful meeting.
Yours faithfully,
Bibi Safora Shadick
Commissioner – GECOM
