The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not yet agreed on a firm timeline for general and regional elections and while it continues to examine whether the polls can be held before year-end, the commission has indicated that costs would go up, Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence says.
“Today we were assured by [GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh] and [the GECOM] commissioners that no timeline has been set and that they are working to see whether they will be able to hold elections this year, given the time-table which they have and the statutory requirements which they will ensure that they abide by,” Lawrence told reporters following a two-hour meeting between a government delegation and the commission. The minister led the delegation to the meeting.
GECOM’s Secretariat had last week presented to the commissioners a draft schedule of timelines which sets the earliest date for general and regional elections as March 2020. On Thursday, opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo said that Singh had stated during a meeting on Tuesday that GECOM was working towards general elections before the end of the year.
Yesterday, Lawrence said that Singh, a retired judge, “had indicated that they are working towards the end of this year to try to see whether the time-frame – all the things that they have to do: statutory and administration – will allow them to conclude on this matter of elections by the end of the year.”
The minister emphasised that no definite time has yet been set as the commission is still working on their timetable.
GECOM has indicated that it will not in any way be shortening any process as laid out in the statute but is looking at the administrative timelines to see how they can reduce deadlines.
According to Lawrence, who is also the chairwoman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – the largest constituent of the governing APNU+AFC coalition, the parliamentary parties which make up the government met with GECOM to get some clarification and see what support they can offer to facilitate the holding of elections within the earliest possible time.
They also took the opportunity to make their case for the holding of credible elections which, they argue, must come out of a credible list. “We were able also to put forward our case in terms of ensuring that the list is credible, that persons be given the opportunity who were not allowed to register in the house-to-house registration that during the claims period, they will be given the opportunity to do so,” she said.
GECOM, in turn, assured the delegation that the information from the house-to-house registration process will be used in the upcoming polls.
Lawrence also reported that efforts were made to ascertain whether GECOM is able to properly finance the upcoming elections in the timeframe proposed.
“We also asked if they had enough finances and other resources at their disposal given the time factor that is now placed upon them and they have assured us that they are presently looking at that. Given the changes that they are requesting of their many service providers, of course the cost will go up. They do not have an initial amount at this time [but] I’m quite certain they will be speaking with the Minister of Finance or the President about that,” she explained.
Asked if more funds would require a sitting of the National Assembly, which is currently in recess, Lawrence said that “elections…is an important agenda item and all of us will agree that if GECOM needs more finances, then we must ensure we put that at their disposal.”
Lawrence also denied accusations that government was attempting to delay the holding of elections.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the three opposition-nominated GECOM commissioners, Robeson Benn, Bibi Shadick and Sase Gunraj, claimed that the purpose of the meeting was to intimidate the commission into participating in a “ploy to delay elections.”
According to the three commissioners, the request for a meeting only came after the Jagdeo meeting at which Singh reportedly expressed a desire to “conduct elections before the end of the year.” The statement said that if the contributions made by the government delegation are implemented, it could lead to a further delay in the holding of the polls.
“At the meeting, Attorney General Basil Williams cited the pending appeal against the decision of the Chief Justice in Christopher Ram v. Guyana Elections Commission, Attorney General et ors, including the filing of an application for a stay of execution. It seems as though he wants to delay the holding of elections until the hearing of this matter, possibly by the Caribbean Court of Justice,” the statement said.
The three commissioners argued that in keeping with the constitutional prescriptions and the admonitions of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the Chief Justice in the various cases resulting from the successful passage of the no-confidence motion, general and regional elections should be held in the shortest possible time before. They said that this is eminently possible.
The PPP/C has been pressing for the holding of the polls as early as possible as a result of the passage of a no-confidence motion against the government since last December, which should have triggered elections within three months.
