Conclusion of discussions will reveal Govt’s true agenda – Jagdeo

GECOM chairmanship

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said based on the outcome of the selection of a Chairman for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Guyanese will then be able to understand the Government’s true agenda.

Jagdeo was at the time addressing a packed People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Public Forum at the Umana Yana on Friday night, where he warned that the citizens of Guyana should be aware of the possibility that the Administration could become “more repressive and return to their old ways” of rigging the elections, as

seen in the matter of the selection of the new GECOM Chairman, which has morphed into a controversial issue.

“This issue has caused a lot of trepidation in the lives of many Guyanese, (this) issue is a crossroad (issue and) how it is resolved will have a lasting impact,” the Opposition Leader said.

He asserted that over the period that the APNU/AFC Government has been in power, a pattern has emerged; he called attention to the many cases where a lack of transparency has been the major issue.

Jagdeo therefore urged all Guyanese, supporters and non-supporters, to take a position on the GECOM Chairman controversy, emphasising that it is a “vital issue that all Guyanese should get engaged in because of the influence this will have on our lives.”

He reminded that if necessary, he would press for the issue to be taken to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Clarification

The Opposition Leader has described the President’s unwillingness to meet with him, as “laughable”.

Earlier this month, Jagdeo had written to President David Granger requesting that he clarify his interpretation of what the qualifications of the GECOM Chair were, and to reconcile “any differences of opinion which may exist on this issue,” as it relates to appointing the new Chairman.

Subsequently, a response was sent indicating that the matter will be dealt with at the level of an Attorney General, where the Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams will meet with Jagdeo and an Attorney selected by the PPP.

According to the former President, this action of Granger’s has caused many persons of the public to speculate that he [Granger] refuses to meet with Jagdeo either because he is “getting bad advice from an incompetent Attorney General” or that he aims to appoint someone of his choice that will help to rig the elections in favour of the APNU/AFC Government.

“If the second interpretation is true then I can see why the President doesn’t want a meeting. No amount of legal arguments – as strong as they are – will change his opinion because he will not be swayed by legal arguments, because he is already hell-bent on getting his way. [However] There is hope if the first view is the relevant one.”

However, the Opposition Leader said that he will be meeting with Attorney General Basil Williams to interpret the Constitution. “We will meet the Attorney General – that nightmare thing to do – but we will do it,” he stated.

Interpretation of the Constitution

Additionally, Jagdeo expressed his interpretation of the Constitution, highlighting that history is on the PPP/C’s side, in reference to the fact that architectures of the Constitution – former Presidents Cheddi Jagan and Desmond Hoyte – abided by the same interpretation.The controversy on the matter revolves around the different interpretations of the Opposition Leader and the Government on Article 161(2) of the Guyana Constitution on the appointment of a new GECOM Chairman.

The relevant section of the Constitution states, “The Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be a person who holds or who has held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court or who is qualified to be appointed as any such judge, or any other fit and proper person, to be appointed by the President from a list of six persons, not unacceptable to the President, submitted by the Leader of the Opposition after meaningful consultation with the non-governmental political parties represented in the National Assembly.”

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.

The Carter Formula is designed and intended to achieve consensus between Government and the Opposition regarding the appointment of GECOM’s Chairman.

GECOM’s composition was also designed to achieve a certain degree of equilibrium, hence three nominees from the governing party and three from the Opposition, with the Chairman holding a balance of power with a casting vote.

Granger’s interpretation on the other hand, seems to reflect the old 1980 Constitution, commonly known as the “Burnham Constitution”, which limits the pool of persons to be appointed to GECOM’s helm to only judges or those eligible to be a judge. This version of the Constitution also gives the President the power to unilaterally appoint a GECOM Chairman.

Attorney General Basil Williams and Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan had both signalled Government’s intention to activate a clause in the Constitution to allow the President to unilaterally appoint a GECOM Chair. Such a move would be dangerous as it alters the democratic process regarding the appointment of a person to be tasked with overseeing the elections process in the country.

Following the unjustified rejection of the six nominees presented by Jagdeo for the position of the Chairman of GECOM, the Opposition Leader had sought clarification.

However, on Wednesday, Jagdeo received a letter from the President, which did not provide the clarification that the President had promised, and this did not sit well with the former President, who then issued a statement expressing his disappointment that the Government had not furnished the clarity sought in a matter of such national importance and magnitude, but instead sought to proposed that a meeting be held between Attorney General Basil Williams and a person of the Leader of the Opposition’s choice “in order to avoid further misinterpretation or misunderstanding of this important constitutional matter”.

The statement further stated that in the interest of the nation, the Opposition Leader will accede to the President’s request, and will send a representative to the meeting with the Attorney General.

Granger had claimed that the initial candidates were unacceptable on the basis that they did not meet the constitutional requirement of being a judge or possessing the qualifications of a judge despite the fact that the Constitution provides for any other “fit and proper” person to be nominated.

When questioned by media operatives, President Granger on Wednesday said, “I am obliged to conduct meaningful consultation with him; I will not make any choice unless the consultation is completed… I am a man of great patience; this is a constitutional matter that is important to Guyana and I don’t want to bring the process to an end without both sides being satisfied,” he expressed.