Appointment of Elections Commission Chairman should be via an Inclusive Process

Dear Editor,
The idea that the only person eligible or preferred to be a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission is a judge (past, present, or one “fit and proper” to be a judge in the future), is undemocratic. It is similar to the idea long outlawed elsewhere, that one must first know how to read or write a section of a constitution in order to register to vote.
An appointment of a Chairman of the elections commission ought to be done in an inclusive process in order to preserve the independence of an electorate voting. This cannot occur if only a select few are deemed eligible of becoming the most premier election official (i.e., Chairman) in the electoral process, tasked with counting the ballots cast in an election.
Indeed, a right to vote includes an inherent right to count that vote. To tell voters they may exercise a right to vote on elections day but they are not “qualified” to count those votes, unless they are judges or “fit and proper” to be judges in the future, is elitist and discriminatory. If this is the rule that will prevail, then the will of future electorates is likely to be compromised.

Sincerely,
Rakesh Rampertab