Breach of instructions: Attorney’s actions “severely eroded” trust – GECOM

…blamed for undermining confidence in election integrity

In the wake of the decision by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to part ways with Legal Officer Kurt Da Silva, the election agency has explained that the Attorney-at-Law’s actions had for some time “severely eroded” the secretariat’s trust in his abilities.

According to a statement from GECOM on Wednesday, Da Silva was required to only act based on the authority granted by his superior, in this case Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud.
Da Silva recently landed himself in hot water over a legal opinion he proffered in a recent court case on the verification of the voters’ list. That legal opinion had not been sanctioned by GECOM or the Chief Elections Officer.
This had prompted Persaud in the days after Da Silva submitted his opinion to publicly distance himself from his legal officer. GECOM noted in its statement that Da Silva’s legal opinion was a violation of the principles he worked under at GECOM and his duty to Persaud, who had taken a sworn position on the case prior to the legal opinion. All behaviour, according to GECOM, that undermined the trust placed in Da Silva.
“The Legal Officer was required to act within the scope of authority granted by his principal – in this case the CEO. By acting outside this scope, particularly in favouring the applicant, the Legal Officer violated this fundamental principle,” GECOM explained.
“The actions taken by the Legal Officer severely eroded trust and confidence in his ability to fulfil his responsibilities, especially in legal matters concerning the conduct of elections. As a consequence, the Chairman denied the Legal Officer’s request for further employment.”
GECOM did acknowledge that Da Silva received high scores in his performance appraisal. However, that performance review period was up until February 10, 2025, before his contract was up on March 31, 2025.
“Subsequent to the preparation of the performance appraisal, there was the emergence of new circumstances involving the Legal Officer, which ultimately led to the Chairman concluding that, there existed a compelling case for his employment not to be renewed,” the Elections Commission said.
GECOM noted that the legal opinions proffered by Da Silva “carried extreme potential for harmful effects insofar as (i) confidence in the Commission’s ability to conduct credible elections is concerned, (ii) postponement of the elections beyond the constitutional deadline, which could lead to the aggravation of political conflicts, and (iii) consequences associated with legitimacy and governance”.
According to GECOM, it was determined that Da Silva’s legal opinion as expressed to the court in his submissions, “were made without concern for the potential consequences. Further, it appears that his submissions were supportive of the applicant’s arguments instead of the respondents whom he was authorised to represent”.
The case in question, which was actually dismissed by acting Chief Justice Roxane George, was filed by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith-Joseph, challenging the voters’ list compiled by GECOM.
Smith-Joseph had taken GECOM to court, contending that the process used to compile the list violated the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, and deprived electors of the opportunity to object to names on the register of voters.
During the proceedings, Da Silva took a legal position that there should be separate lists of electors for the Regional and General Elections, even going as far as to say that persons qualified to vote in the regional election may not necessarily be qualified to vote in the general one.
Da Silva’s opinion was subsequently denounced by the CEO, who made it clear that he never instructed his legal officer to make such a submission and that it could cause confusion. And the acting Chief Justice subsequently dismissed Smith-Joseph’s challenge as misconstrued.
During a statutory meeting on Tuesday, GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh sided with the Government-nominated GECOM Commissioners, in a vote on whether or not to renew Da Silva’s contract. The Opposition Commissioners reportedly walked out of the meeting after the vote was taken.
It was further revealed that the Chairperson cited Da Silva’s legal opinion in his pleadings during the just-concluded voter verification case as one of the reasons behind her decision.