The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Secretariat has presented July as the earliest date for the holding of general and regional elections, according to two commissioners who showed up for a meeting of the Commission’s operations sub-committee yesterday.
July is two months after the expiration of the current voters’ list, which remains valid until April 30th, and over three months after the constitutional deadline for the holding of the polls, unless an extension is set by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly.
Opposition-nominated Commissioner Robeson Benn told reporters following the cancelled meeting that the work plans provided by the Secretariat “in large measure ignore the constitutional requirement for elections by March 19.”
“One timeline I’ve seen in respect of suggestion of the holding of elections is July. That is one of a number of timelines provided for our consideration. I hold that elections can and should be held by March 19, 2019. There is still sufficient time for elections to be held by the constitutional deadline… other deadlines … go on to suggest house-to-house registration and all kinds of things for six months or more,” he explained, while charging that these timelines point to collusion between some persons in respect of avoiding holding elections. “Some of those persons reside or work at GECOM,” a visibly frustrated Benn claimed.
Co-Chair of the sub-committee Sase Gunraj was similarly incensed, telling reporters that there was no actual meeting since the logistical staff which normally facilitate the meeting was absent and the reports were received a mere hour and a half before the scheduled start time.
“We did not have a meeting. I received these documents at 12.30 pm today Monday. When I arrived at GECOM at 2 pm, it was obvious that no meeting was planned for today. The boardroom was closed. We did not have access to the boardroom. There was no support staff present and as is usual and customary. The CEO [Chief Election Officer] met with us about 2.20 pm and he said to us he was not aware that we had a meeting today,” he added.
Gunraj further noted that having received the documents at 12.30, he could not “just peruse and give an opinion on it.”
“These are matters of national importance and as a consequence receiving these documents and being expected to make meaningful contributions by 2 pm, it’s clear even if I had nothing else to do I could not do this,” he stressed before adding that another meeting of the sub-committee was, therefore, set for 10 am today.
‘Commission decides’
GECOM readiness to conduct the elections has come under scrutiny in wake of the passage of a no-confidence motion against the government in the National Assembly last December, which would require the holding of polls within three months. The validity of the motion has since been challenged by the government, which lost its first challenge in the High Court last week when the acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire upheld the motion and said its passage should have triggered the immediate resignation of the Cabinet, including the President, paving the way for new elections. It has since stated its intention to appeal.
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield yesterday refuted accusations that the Secretariat, which he heads, is attempting to delay elections and maintained that the “Secretariat is directed by the Commission, so the Secretariat cannot move to the conduct of an elections unless the Commission decides we will do this.”
“If we are going to have a claims and objections, for example for 10 days or 7 days or 9 days, the Commission decides that and pass those decisions to the Secretariat for execution,” he said.
Asked specifically if elections can be held by March 19th, Lowenfield noted that he would like to be on the same page with the commissioners before he speaks publicly on the matter.
However, Lowenfield told reporters that the current voters list is sufficient for the holding of elections. “The list is clean. It has a life until 30thApril,” he said, before adding that it can be used for elections if the Commission so decides.
According to Lowenfield, the timeline for any house-to-house registration exercise will also depend on the decision of the Commission.
“It depends on a lot of factors—are we going to have 400 additional sub-offices or 200? The Commission will decide if we will be in the field for four months and if we are going to do that, we have to have training before to ensure we have staff who will execute. The minutiae is to be determined by the Commission,” he stressed, while noting that minimum timeframe is three or four months in the field.
