Dear Editor,
The CCJ has delivered its judgment. The no-confidence motion in the parliament has been validly passed – 33 and not 34 is the majority of 65. The appointment of Judge Patterson to chair GECOM is unconstitutional. President Granger does not have powers to act unilaterally and therefore his appointment was unlawful.
Where does the nation go from here? These judgments are only half of the problems facing the country. The other half has to do with fixing the problems at GECOM and setting a date for the elections – all trying to comply with the provisions of the Constitution. And, these are proving to be even stickier than it ought to be.
I propose the following:
Opposition Leader Jagdeo and Mr Granger will not be able to have a meeting of the minds – that much is clear. One side or the other is determined to have its way in postponing the elections for as long as possible. Meanwhile, the nation is saddled with a government usurping time and place. The seven Justices should assume the role of “enlightened mediation,” sit down with the two leaders – and gently nudge them to agree on a neutral person to chair GECOM. If possible, the Justices should select that neutral person. The clear intent of the Constitution is that a non-partisan person should chair GECOM.
The CCJ has already ruled that the article(s) governing the setting up of GECOM is “flawed.” Most reasonable Guyanese agree with the CCJ on this point. So, why don’t the Justices, together with Messrs Jagdeo and Granger rewrite the article? This matter, in my view, has to be the most urgent compelling matter facing the country today. Politicians should never have been allowed to sit on GECOM’s Board. Politicians sitting on the Board are not there to help in obtaining fair elections – they are there to secure advantages for their parties. And, with the helping hand of a biased chairman, they will make a mess of the elections. The Justices should act with Solomon’s wisdom – and reconstitute the Board with non-politicians.
To fulfill the demands of the Constitution, the elections should be held within 90 days after this final court ruling. There is no valid reason why a voters’ list cannot be prepared in 30 days – using computers, appropriate software and printers. Let there be a registration office in each district to register those persons who have not yet registered. Let this be the responsibility of parties’ canvassers to get their supporters to the registration office. Guyana does not have a million eligible voters – only about 400,000 and most of them are already registered. I would be willing to volunteer my services to supervise the drawing up of a valid voters’ list – and I would be happy to do so for no pay.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud
