Controversial GPA elections to be held today

Chief Justice Roxane George did not grant the injunction filed by social media commentator Mikhail Rodrigues, popularly known as “Guyanese Critic”, who had moved to the court to stop the elections of the Guyana Press Association.

Mikhail Rodrigues filed a Fixed Date Application (FDA) on Friday and named incumbent GPA President Nazima Raghubir and Executive Members Rawle Toney, Denis Chabrol and Svetlana Marshall as respondents.
The elections will be held at midday at the Theater Guild in Kingston, Georgetown.
In her ruling on Saturday, the Chief Justice said that Rodrigues’s application is not urgent, adding that the GPA is not a corporate entity, meaning that it is an unincorporated entity
As a matter of fact, the GPA is registered as a business in the name of the President of the Association, Nazima Raghubir. According to the registration seen by this publication, the business name is listed as “GUYANA PRESS ASSOCIATION”: Business No.:216005: Status: NEW. The two-address associated with the registration is that of a private residence and a business entity.
In her ruling the Justice George said that having perused the GPA’s constitution it is not “a corporate or any kind of registered entity that has personality that can sue or be sued.”
The controversy surrounding today’s elections of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) has heightened over the past week.
Recently, the GPA has been surrounded by controversy leading up to the upcoming election.
On Thursday, several local media entities signed a petition calling on the GPA to release the voters’ list ahead of the Annual General Meeting on Sunday.
In the petition, which was sent on Thursday the media houses expressed “serious concerns” about the AGM, which will be held at the Theatre Guild in Kingston, Georgetown, particularly about membership and the voter’s list.
They explained that in the past, it has been the practice of the GPA to register members and collect their dues on the day of elections in cases where dues had not been paid. In cases where new members who meet the eligibility criteria to vote, that is, three working years in the media, wished to sign up and pay the required dues, they were allowed to do so. This way all members eligible to vote could only be known on the day of the elections itself.
“This year, the GPA Executive abandoned that convention and set May 6 as the date for the payment of dues for EXISTING members and has said registration of new members will be approved by the new executive. This decision effectively denies membership to many who are working members of the media for three years (and more) and who wish to participate in the elections,” the petition detailed.
To this end, the media houses said in the interest of transparency and accountability and to ensure the integrity of the GPA as well as to eliminate any concerns about the credibility of the list of voters, they called on the GPA Executive to immediately release the list of all members eligible to vote at the elections on May 14.
Meanwhile, the GPA Executive, in a statement on Thursday, was adamant about not releasing the 110-member voters’ list, claiming that some members have requested confidentiality prior to Sunday’s election.
“The Executive of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) today unanimously reaffirmed that the names of the 110 members who are eligible to vote for office bearers would be made known on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at the General Members Meeting and Elections, by the Returning Officer, Attorney-at-Law Ronald Burch-Smith. This is to preserve the confidentiality of a number of members who have requested that their membership remain confidential prior to the elections,” the missive stated.
According to the GPA, “Eligible members shall be allowed to vote in accordance with the GPA’s Constitution for office-bearers to be elected by secret ballot. Every effort has been made to ensure that the elections will be free, fair, and transparent. We have invited a number of observers for Sunday’s process”.
Several media workers and media entities have indicated that they were not aware of the membership drive. Moreover, some reporters working in the outlying regions such as Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) have also complained about being unable to clear their dues or being allowed to register in order to vote at Sunday’s AGM.
In light of the concerns raised, an urgent meeting has been requested with the GPA by veteran journalist, Neil Marks, who is contesting for the GPA presidency. On the agenda for that meeting is the publication of the list of eligible voters for the upcoming elections; reverting to the convention of accepting applications on the day of the AGM; extending the deadline for the processing and approval of new members to the GPA by Saturday at 16:00h and accepting, and dues of existing members by the said deadline.
The GPA had not responded with a time for that meeting and the elections will be conducted today.