Electoral reform proposal: Opposition says draft do not adequately address its concerns …now wants independent arbiter involved in GECOM hiring process

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, who was invited by the Government to express his views on the draft electoral reform laws, has said that one of his concerns is with how the reforms address voter impersonation.
During a press conference on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader waded in on the draft reforms to the Representation of the People’s Act, that was developed by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government. According to Harmon, said that the draft reforms to the Representation of the People’s Act do not adequately deal with his party’s concerns on issues such as voter fraud.

While the voters list was previously subject to a claims and registration process in 2019 prior to the General and Regional elections of 2020, Harmon said that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) would not accept the voters list in its current state.
The Opposition Leader criticised the move to divide Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) into sub districts. According to Harmon, there is also concern over the management of the registration database.
Wide consultation
While the government has the draft electoral reform laws and wants to take it to Parliament at the earliest possible opportunity, it has said it wants to have the widest possible consultations on the changes that will be made to the Representation of the People’s Act.
These consultations include with the various political parties. In fact, Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Texieira recently revealed that copies of the draft amendments were sent to the main parliamentary opposition APNU/AFC.
Particularly, Texieira had said that the government was hoping for feedback from representatives of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), former President David Granger and Harmon.

GECOM
Harmon meanwhile also addressed the current efforts being made to appoint critical officers to the GECOM, including to the posts of Chief Elections Officer (CEO) and Deputy Chief Elections Officer.
“…I’m in support of an independent person being part of a selection committee at GECOM… we are saying, it is not too late at this stage to get an independent arbiter to deal with this matter.”
Currently, both the Government and Opposition nominated sides of the GECOM have settled on a shortlist of their favourite candidates for the positions of Chief Elections Officer and Deputy Chief Elections Officer, with the Government side settling on six names and the Opposition three.
When GECOM had put out the advertisements, over a dozen persons – both locally and overseas – had applied for the post of CEO. So far former CEO Gocool Boodoo, who was one of the more prominent names to apply, has withdrawn his application.
According to a list seen by this publication, Dr Kurt Clarke from Texas, Leslie Oliver Harrow from Jamaica, and Eugene Godfrey Petty from St Kitts were the foreign applicants. Of the three, this publication was able to ascertain from news reports in Jamaica that Harrow was up until May employed as head of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).
The local applicants had included Vishnu Persaud, the former Deputy CEO whose non-appointment for the role in 2018 triggered controversy of its own. Another applicant for the post was Attorney-at-Law Saphier Hussain, who was the Presidential Candidate for his National Independent Party (NIP) in the May 2015 General and Regional Elections. Former Permanent Secretary at the Office of the President, Omar Shariff was also among the applicants.
The persons who are eventually hired will fill the vacancies caused by the removals of former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; his former Deputy, Roxanne Myers; and former Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo. (G3)