On the heels of Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon condemning the selection of Vishnu Persaud as its next Chief Election Officer as a political decision, opposition coalition partner the Alliance For Change (AFC) on Saturday said that any appointment would have been criticised by either side of the divide.
AFC, which is the junior partner in the main opposition APNU+AFC coalition, adopted a moderate stance in contrast to Harmon, who accused the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair-person, retired Justice Claudette Singh of batting for the governing People’s Progressive Party.
However, in a statement the AFC said that because of the polarising politics of Guyana, the decision would have been criticised.
“…whoever had been chosen in this position would have received the approbation of half of the population and the suspicion and possible rejection of the other half. That this is so, is a sorry and painful reflection of the poor state of our democracy and pointedly proclaims that the appointment alone of a Chief Election Officer, in and of itself, cannot and will not strengthen our weak and threatened democracy,” the party noted.
The party posited that the onus is on leaders, politicians, GECOM, civil society and development partners to strengthen Guyana’s weakened democracy and unite the nation, before pledging to do its part to bring about the much-needed cohesion, respect and trust.
In relation to Persaud’s appointment, the AFC thanked GECOM for arriving at a decision, while noting that the process was a long, divisive and arduous one. It added that with an appointment, the process of rebuilding trust and confidence in the electoral system and Guyana’s democracy can now commence.
As a prerequisite to rebuilding the credibility of the system, the party called for a new voters’ list “purged of all the contaminants of the past” followed by the holding of Local Government Elections. The polls were supposed to be held in November/ early December but because of the vacant Chief Election Officer post, GECOM has been unable to put systems in place for the election.
The GECOM Chairwoman has already written to the Attorney General informing him of the circumstances resulting in the Commission not being able to meet the constitutionally mandated deadline. The government is now expected to approach the National Assembly seeking to postpone the holding of LGE.
“Mr Persaud has a long and difficult road ahead and we trust that he has the ‘right stuff’ to lead a team that can deliver free, fair and acceptable elections whenever required by law,” the AFC said.
Persaud, a former Public Relations Officer and DCEO at GECOM was interviewed for the CEO post along with senior Jamaican electoral official Leslie Harrow. Friday morning, it was Justice Singh who cast the deciding vote, based in part on an endorsement of Persaud by former CEO Dr Steve Surujbally.
However, the opposition-nominated Commissioners are contending that Persaud is not qualified for the post and have since distanced themselves from the appointment. During an emergency press conference on Friday afternoon, they contended that the selection process was flawed from the inception.
Persaud served in the PRO post for 13 years then moved to the post of Deputy Commissioner of Registration from 2013 to 2017. He is expected to take up his post in the new week once all contractual and administrative formalities are worked out.
