An Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) inquiry into the hiring practices at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) received no evidence of any particular ethnicity being given preferential treatment but qualified the finding by saying the Human Resources Manager’s refusal to cooperate did not allow for extensive deliberations to arrive at a more informed conclusion.
The probe also focused on the controversial appointment of Roxanne Myers to the post of Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) and found that by all objective criteria and available evidence, the other candidate for the post, Vishnu Persaud, was the most qualified and that he was the first candidate in the history of GECOM who obtained the highest score and had not been appointed. That being said, it also noted that there was no evidence ethnicity played any role in Myers’ appointment.
The findings are contained in the 35-page Final Report on the Investigation into Employment Practices at GECOM and the Appointment of Roxanne Myers to the Post of Deputy Chief Election Officer, which was compiled by a sub-committee and handed over yesterday to representatives of the PPP/C, which had lodged a complaint.
