Dear Editor,
GECOM Chairman, Claudette Singh SC is reportedly seeking a compromise position with regards to the date for General and Regional Elections; the irony of this cannot be lost on anyone who has knowledge of Guyana’s electoral history, for it is the very same Claudette Singh (justice retired) who vitiated an entire election because of a ‘compromise’ made between the PPP and the PNC. In particular Justice Claudette Singh found that the requirement for voters to have a voter ID card in 1997 was ultra vires Articles 59 and 159 of the Constitution (despite a parliamentary agreement to use the cards). Consequently the elections were therefore null and void. Is Justice Singh now unaware that she has ventured outside of the framework of the Constitution with her search for a ‘compromise’?
To be clear, the political positions of commission members, matter not one wit; all that should matter is within Articles 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution, the Consequential Orders of the CCJ and the recent ruling of the Chief Justice in the Chris Ram case.
The Rule of Law must be observed not only when in the Judge’s high chair, but also when seated in the Chairman’s ‘hot seat’ in the GECOM boardroom. Justice Claudette Singh SC set a very high standard in 1997, compromise was not part of Madam Justice Singh’s vocabulary then, we expect her (Singh) to demonstrate that same iron will in 2019.
Yours faithfully,
Robin Singh
