Appointment should be fast-tracked – Dr Surujbally

…says persons with necessary legal qualifications deemed “fit and proper” should be appointed

As the legal minds of Government and the Opposition continue to hit a deadlock on the interpretation of the constitutional requirements for the appointment of a chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), former Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally is urging that the process be fast-tracked in order for his successor to be in place and start preparations for the “serious” 2020 elections.

Former GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally
Former GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally

“It is becoming more and more difficult to find my successor it seems… Really, I do not think that we should be taking so long,” Dr Surujbally posited. He was at the time addressing media operatives at a press conference held on Tuesday to mark his last day in office.

The hold-up in the process revolves around the different interpretations of the Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and the Government on Article 161 (2) on the appointment of a new GECOM Chairman, with the latter insisting that the new Head of the elections body be a judge, retired judge or someone with the qualifications of becoming a judge.

The Article states: “the Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be a person who holds or who has held office as a judge of a court…or who is qualified to be appointed as any such judge, or any other fit and proper person.”

According to the now former GECOM Chairman, if persons with the necessary legal qualifications are considered “fit and proper”, as stated in the Constitution, then such persons should be appointed to the helm of the elections body.

“If you can have a judge ‘fit and proper’, having all the positive elements in his behaviour and his moral make-up, then yes, that would be the best person to have… For me, the crucial words would be ‘fit and proper’ and if you can get ‘fit and proper’ together with judge and legal then you’ve won, that’s the best person ever,” he noted.

The former GECOM Chairman went on to point out that the way the relevant law was outlined in the Constitution, preference was given to the Chairman being a judge, a retired judge or someone eligible to be a judge rather than just being “fit and proper”.

“…It tells me that the focus of the framers was in fact to have a judge here,” he stated.

However, Dr Surujbally, who himself has no legal background, was quick to add that the Elections Commission has never been without legal expertise during his tenure, since there has been Commissioners as well as the body’s legal adviser with ample knowledge of the electoral laws.

He further continued that his lack of a legal background was negated by services provided by his team at the Commission. “I don’t know that was a negativism,” he asserted, adding that he learnt on the job and in addition to having a team, he could have retained legal experts.

Nominees

Initially, the Opposition submitted a list of six nominees for the post: Executive Member of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo; former PSC Chairman and Army Chief Norman Mc Lean; Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram; writer Rhyaan Shah; Professor James Rose, and human rights and conflict resolution consultant Lawrence Latchmansingh.

However, the President subsequently rejected the list saying that none of the nominees met the constitutional requirements. Government’s interpretation seems to reflect the old 1980 Constitution which limits the pool of persons eligible to be appointed to GECOM’s helm to only Judges or those eligible to be a judge. Meanwhile, the Opposition’s understanding conforms to the updated Constitution which incorporates the Carter formula to have a democratic process for the appointment of a chairman.

In order to arrive at a consensus, President Granger has ordered that legal representatives from the two sides meet to iron out the issue. However, two such meetings have since been held between Attorney General Basil Williams and his predecessor, Anil Nandlall, representing the Opposition Leader, and discussions have been futile.

Addressing the prolonged process in appointing his successor, Dr Surujbally posited that the delays were reflective of the seriousness of the upcoming General and Regional Elections in three years’ time. In fact, he believes that the political parties are paving the way to have their own representatives sit at the helm of the Elections Commission.

“The elections that are coming up in 2020 would be so serious and what results come out of that is of such great gravitas that people are positioning themselves and they want, I would think, ‘their’ chairman,” the former Chairman stated.

Dr Surujbally took up the helm of the elections Body back in 2001. After serving for four General and Regional Elections and the first Local Government Elections in some 20 years, he retired from GECOM last year.

While his initial notice was for him to leave office on November 30, 2016, there were some remaining days he had to work which took him to the end of December. However, he was subsequently asked by the Head of State to stay on for a while longer until his replacement was found, but with the ongoing delays, Dr Surujbally said he decided to “kick the bucket” and “ride off into the sunset”.