Berbice Bar demands immediate repeal of ‘illegal’ appointment

…openly questions advanced age of 84- year-old GECOM Chair

The Berbice Bar Association has now formally joined the growing ranks of those discontented at the decision made by the Head of State, President David Granger, to unilaterally appoint retired Justice James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, rejecting a third list of nominees submitted by the Opposition Leader for consideration for this post.
The Association in condemning the President’s last Thursday’s surprise move — made under cover of night at State House — and has called for the immediate rescission of this appointment.
The Association, comprising lawyers from Berbice, has also called into question the competence of the 84-year-old retired Justice Patterson, and has said it is concerned about the effects the rigours of the upcoming local government and national and regional elections would have on his advanced age.
“Will the retired Justice be able to carry out and perform all the rigorous duties associated with the (GECOM) Chairmanship? And if he is unable to do so, what will be the impact on our fledgling democracy?”
The entity, in a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, said the action of the President flies in the face of Article 161 of the Constitution of Guyana, the country’s supreme law, and is contemptuous of the ruling of acting Chief Justice Madam Roxanne George.
The Berbice Bar Association also registered its deep concern that, despite the court being clear that reasons must be given in the event of a rejection of names, the President has failed, refused, and neglected to comply with that ruling.
“What is the example being set for ordinary citizens regarding complying with decisions of the court? His Excellency the President must lead by example by respecting the rule of law…In that way, the ordinary citizens would be expected to do the same,” the Association admonished.
According to the Association, “the indecent haste in which this appointment was made, and without respect for and in total disregard of the Opposition Leader and people of Guyana, does not augur well for our fledgling democracy…There is no reasonable or legal justification for the extreme haste in which this appointment was made.”
The entity insists, “We are worried about the effect of the President’s unilateral appointment of Justice Patterson on the social, economic, and political stability of our country — all matters that will affect in various ways every single citizen of Guyana.”
The Association has since stridently called on President Granger for “an immediate rescission of the appointment of Justice James Patterson.” The Association said it demands the President heed the spirit and intent of the constitutionally enshrined Carter-Price formula of appointing a chairperson to GECOM, and immediately collaborate with the Leader of the Opposition to arrive at a ‘fit and proper’ person for appointment to the said post.
It reminded that Article 161 of the Constitution is clear in its prescription of how a chairman is to be appointed, in that the President shall choose a chairman from a list of names that is submitted by the Leader of the Opposition. If the Leader of the Opposition fails to submit such a list, only then may the President unilaterally appoint a Chairman.
“It is public knowledge that the Leader of the Opposition has submitted to the President the names of 18 persons, many of whom are eminently qualified, and certainly who are more qualified than the present appointee.”
The body of lawyers contend that there was neither reason nor ground for the President to invoke the proviso of Article 161(2) of the Constitution and unilaterally appoint a chairman.
It was noted, too, that in the decision of Justice Roxanne George, she deemed of “academic significance” only her interpretation of the proviso which allows the President to unilaterally appoint a chairman, as lists and amended lists had been submitted by the Leader of the Opposition, as provided for by the Constitution.