The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has finally made a decision to appoint former Information Technology (IT) Manager Aneal Giddings as Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), but not before facing strong opposition from one side of the commission.
Government-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj confirmed to this publication following the meeting, that appointing the DCEO came down to a vote in which he and his fellow Government-nominated Commissioners Manoj Narayan and Clement Rohee supported Giddings.
Giddings’s appointment was opposed by Opposition-nominated Commissioners Desmond Trotman, Charles Corbin and Vincent Alexander. In the end, GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh used her tie-breaking vote to back Giddings’s appointment.
It is not the first time the Chair has supported Giddings for an appointment, as last year the former IT Manager was seconded to the post of Operations Director of GECOM. This came about following a request from CEO Vishnu Persaud – a request that was honoured by Justice Singh.
However, the seconding of Giddings was rescinded by GECOM after intense debate at the level of the commission. It had been announced that the position would remain vacant until a new Deputy CEO was appointed.
Prior to Giddings, the last person to serve as the substantive DCEO was Roxanne Myers, who is among several persons that served within the apparatus of GECOM who have been charged with electoral fraud pertaining to the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Symbols
Another decision taken by GECOM at Tuesday’s meeting, according to Gunraj, was to approve 61 symbols from contesters of the Local Government Elections (LGE). Included in that number are symbols from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).
Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall has already set Monday, June 12, 2023, as the date for the holding of the much-anticipated and long overdue LGE in Guyana.
New GECOM DCEO Aneal Giddings
LGE were initially set for March 13 this year, but GECOM had deferred it in December 2022 to address issues relating to its registration exercise. This postponement occurred after court action was filed by Opposition-aligned persons, challenging the process used to compile the List of Electors, or Voters’ List, for the pending LGE.
Meanwhile, GECOM has already been in preparation mode over the past few months as it gears up for the long overdue elections. Also in February, the Commission announced that it had reopened the process to provide a further opportunity for political parties, groups, or individuals wanting to contest the upcoming LGE to submit their applications for approval of their symbols.
Section 48 (1) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Chapter 28:03, provides that all political parties, voluntary groups, and individuals who are desirous of contesting LGE are required to submit a symbol for approval by GECOM no later than the 21st day before Nomination Day.
In this regard, GECOM said in a statement that March 1, 2023 has been set as the date by which a printed and electronic version of the symbols must be submitted to the Commission.
However, it was explained that those political parties, voluntary groups, and individuals who have already applied for approval of their symbols, and who would have already received notification that their symbols were approved are NOT required to reapply.
GECOM has previously indicated that its approved work plan entails, among other things, that the Elections Secretariat would immediately move to roll out a robust civic and voter education programme, appoint Electoral Registrars and Assistant Electoral Registrars, and extract the Preliminary List of Voters (PLV). (G3)
