The Private Sector Commission (PSC) yesterday said it held a “cordial and fruitful” meeting with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
According to Chairman Gerry Gouveia the PSC reached out to the new Chair, retired Justice Claudette Singh and was immediately accommodated for more than two hours yesterday.
“We had 13 private sector leaders from across the country present for a two-hour extensive discussion on issues. We asked some questions, got some answers and expressed opinions. It was a very, very fruitful meeting,” Gouveia told this newspaper. He indicated that a joint press statement will be issued today to provide more details on the issues discussed.
Also present at the meeting was Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield.
Yesterday’s meeting comes several days after Singh decided to truncate the contentious House to House (HtH) and a little more than a month after the PSC criticized the process as illegal.
One day after the exercise began on July 20, Gouveia wrote Lowenfield and called for the suspension of the registration exercise until a new Chairperson was appointed.
“We have sought legal advice on this matter and it is our understanding that you have not been legally directed by the [Guyana Elections Commission] to proceed as you are doing and that to conduct house-to-house registration is unlawful,” Gouveia had written.
He added that “the Private Sector Commission calls upon GECOM to immediately suspend the house-to-house registration exercise until a Chairperson of GECOM has been named and can inclusively and respectfully decide the best way forward,”
In a letter in response, dated July 22nd, Lowenfield stressed that GECOM’s Legal Officer, Excellence Dazzell, advised that since the June 11th Order, based on the directions of the Commission on February 19th, 2019, “was signed and gazetted before the Judgment of the CCJ… it is valid.”
The Order provided for eligible persons to be registered under the house-to-house registration process, which is to run from July 20th, 2019 until October 20th, 2019.
According to Lowenfield, he was advised that “in light of the judgement of the [CCJ] on 18 June 2019, which stated that the process by which Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission was appointed was flawed, every act done by that Chairman (Justice (Rtd) James Patterson) after 18 June 2019 would be void. However, acts done before 18 June 2019 would be valid since those acts would have been done on the premise that the appointment was bona fide.”
Justice Singh has since decided that Order 25 of 2019 should be amended for the exercise to conclude on 31st August, 2019 instead of 20th October, 2019.
