– Essequibo demands registers of associations be verified
Described by Demerara Cricket Board President Bissondyal Singh Snr. as a slap in the face of democracy, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) elections have been put off to another date. The elections, which were set to occur yesterday (February 26) at the Umana Yana, saw the Berbice Cricket Board and the Demerara Cricket Board being present while Essequibo was a ‘no-show.’
Attorney-at-Law and Cricket Ombudsman Kamal Ramkarran
Cricket Ombudsman Kamal Ramkarran has noted that the GCB elections will not be held until the complaints made by the Essequibo Board are resolved.
“Due to matters which have been raised on behalf of the Essequibo Cricket Board, I believe on the issue of fairness, to be fair to the people who have raised contentions about the elections, about the process, that we should hold off on elections until such time as those complaints have been resolved, if not to the satisfaction of the people who are raising those complaints, at least objectively speaking. Everybody will give their opinion, everything is clear and above board, and if elections are held, there would be no contentions. I think it is better in light of the acrimony that exists in the cricket administration at the moment,” Ramkarran said.
The Cricket Ombudsman has also written to the representatives of the Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo Cricket Boards, who expressed dissatisfaction with this decision.
“In the email sent by Mr Satram, Attorney-at-Law, which I shared with you, Mr. Satram has raised the issue of my function of verifying registers. Now, I have seen no registers, I know that your elections were held pursuant to court order, and I believe the same was for the Berbice Cricket Board. I do not believe the same for the Essequibo Cricket Board, but if one of the functions ombudsman, is to verify registers, and the Essequibo Cricket Board raises the issue of the verification of registers, if everyone would agree, Sure, registers are above board, then we can proceed; but if the Essequibo Cricket Board has last night, raised the issue of the verification of registers, I could not in good conscience proceed elections in their absence in light of that allegation that there are issues to be resolved, and could I not in good conscience proceed to hold elections,” the Cricket Ombudsman noted.
With this election postponed, the hopes of Guyana Cricket Board Secretary Anand Sanasie’s remains alive of challenging incumbent Ricky Skerritt for the presidency of Cricket West Indies. Should the current board be swept from power, it would delegitimize Sanasie’s run for the presidency.
The Ombudsman noted that only the Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr. has the right to set the holding the elections and his power stands in examining the registers and be the returning officer at the elections. The wait for the GCB elections will continue.
