Jagdeo worried GECOM chair to be picked at Congress Place ‘backroom’

…says maybe President has no authority to make this decision unilaterally

Guyanese are now in the sixth week since the third set of nominees for the post of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson was sent by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, to President David Granger and while Granger insists that the recent ruling from the Chief Justice, Roxanne George, does not impinge on his authority to make the appointment, his intimation relative to the possibility of a meeting with Jagdeo has sparked some level of optimism in the political Opposition.

At his last news conference, held on Thursday (October 5, 2017), Jagdeo said, “I did not close the door to the meeting because I am hoping he is calling me to say „I have selected someone from your list. There is a difference here. In the past, he would write me and say, „I dont accept the list. I have not accepted anyone from the list. So, there is a change here. He wants to see me… I am hoping the departure with how I get the news now means that it is positive news. So let us keep it at that. So lets keep our fingers crossed and hopes up, although many persons think that is naivety…I will attend the meeting.

Congress Place decision
Still on the delay in the appointment, Jagdeo noted that it was none other than one of Granger’s Ministers who was overheard in the corridors of the court saying: “That banna can’t decide. We at Congress Place (the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNC) Headquarter) have to make that decision (on who is the new GECOM Chairperson).”
On that note, Jagdeo said, “Maybe it is that the President has no authority to make this decision that its dealt with elsewhere, and so somebody needs to say to the President you have to address this issue seriously,” he said.

Charades and diversions
However, even an optimistic Jagdeo has made clear that the delay in the appointment of a GECOM Chairperson will continue to be cause for worry, until such time as an appointment is made. “We have a written ruling from the court, which is the only body that can interpret the constitution…how long will this charade go on now in the face of the ruling from the court?” he questioned.
Three months ago, the Chief Justice made an oral ruling after local businessman, Marcel Gaskin, approached the court for an interpretation of the Constitutional provision related to the appointment of a GECOM Chairperson. Gaskin asked four substantive questions of the court.
Last week, Justice George released her written ruling in the matter – a ruling that dismisses contentions held by President David Granger, which included; that the nominees must be judges, former judges or persons eligible to be judges in Guyana or in the Commonwealth; that every member on the list of nominees must be acceptable to him before he proceeds to choose a Chairman; and that he is not required to give a reason for rejecting the list of nominees.
In response to the written ruling, Granger stated that nothing in the Chief Justice’s written decision prohibits or prevents his exercise of that authority or power; and he will move to appoint a “fit and proper” person to the post of GECOM Chairperson.
Jagdeo, who noted Granger’s response to the Chief Justice’s ruling, particularly as it relates to appointing a “fit and proper” person, called out the President for his use of “diversionary tactics” in the face of substantive issues being pronounced on by the court.
Jagdeo said, “Whoever claimed, in this country, that the ruling interfered with his appointment of a fit and proper person? Definitely not the Chief Justice and I did not say that myself. Nobody said anything about the ruling interfering with his authority to appoint a fit and proper person.
What we said was that the ruling dealt with some positions that the president has taken publicly.
The first position was that only individuals from a certain category could be represented on the list and that category comprised of former judges, judges and people qualified to be judges…the ruling dealt with his false interpretations,” Jagdeo said.
According to the Opposition Leader, the ruling quintessentially renders Granger’s previously held contentions as invalid. “The Granger-led government runs from the truth when they have nefarious motives,” he posited.

Proviso issue
The Opposition Leader highlighted too that the Chief Justice also dealt with the matter of a proviso, as detailed in the Constitution. The proviso in the Constitution states that if the Leader of the Opposition fails to submit a list, as provided for, then the President can appoint a judge or former judge or qualified to be a judge in Guyana or the Commonwealth.
He said, “Even on the proviso issue, the Chief Justice has said that three lists have been submitted, so the matter is academic and does not apply to the current situation.” The matter of the proviso arose during the proceedings, based on submissions by the Guyana Bar Association.
The Chief Justice in her ruling said: “While the applicant has not applied for a determination of this issue, it was raised by the Bar Association in its brief which was filed and served on all parties. It was submitted that the Constitution only contemplates the submission of one list. Neither the Attorney General nor the Leader of the Opposition sought to address this issue. For completeness, since it was raised, I have decision to mention it more so because, as noted above, it speaks to the issue of why reasons for rejection of anyone listed or the entire list are important. It does appear, as canvassed by the Bar Association, that Article 161 (2) dos not contemplate the submission of more than one list…It does appear to me that failure to submit a list as provided for speaks to the provision of an acceptable list, as discussed earlier. If by not choosing any of the persons listed the President thereby find the list unacceptable, the proviso to Article 161 (2) would apply and the President should then go on to appoint a judge or former judge or person who would qualify for appointment as a judge in Guyana or the Commonwealth to the post of Chairman of GECOM. But all of this in in effect academic because more than one list has been sought and provide.”

Granger’s Obligation
The Opposition Leader has also underscored the fact that Granger has an obligation to act. “Now that the ruling has dealt with all of those issues that I spoke about, that the president has an obligation to respect and apply the ruling to the list of candidates before him,” he said.
On the possibility that the third set of nominees will be rejected by Granger, Jagdeo insisted that all 18 nominees, including the 12 already rejected, were „fit and proper and were qualified to act in the post of GECOM Chairperson.
After the first two sets of nominees for the post of GECOM Chairperson were rejected by Granger, the latest nominees named by Jagdeo included: Major General Joseph Singh, Teni Housty, Sanjeev Datadin, Mrs Annette Arjune-Martins, Onesi La Fleur and Krishnadatt Persaud.
Jagdeo said, “If our President cannot find from18 persons – 18 persons who are all professionals, who have some standing in our society, who have demonstrated independent positions and actions, who have been impartial….most of them are more technically qualified than the President himself and most of his Ministers – (if) he can’t find a single one of the 18 fit and proper, then something is wrong, not with those people anymore or the process, something is wrong with him, and maybe he is not fit and proper to make the selection.” GECOM has been without a chairman since February 2017, when Dr Steve Surujbally, a veterinarian, retired. The non-appointment of the Chairperson is stalling the Commission’s work.