GECOM unlikely to hold elections by March 13 – AG

…calls attention of int’l community to APNU’s delaying tactics

While a date was set for Local Government Elections (LGE) last year, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, has revealed that based on what has been taking place at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the agency is unlikely to be able to hold elections by this date.

During his latest edition of “Issues in the News”, Nandlall spoke about GECOM and its readiness to hold the LGE. In fact, Nandlall noted that GECOM was not likely to be able to hold the polls by March 13, 2023, the date appointed by Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall.
“Unfortunately, based upon the way events are unfolding at that agency, we have had constant delays. Though the Minister has appointed a day for elections to be held, from all indications it appears that GECOM will not be in a position to hold those elections. That is highly regrettable and unfortunate.”
The Attorney General pointed out that Government has given GECOM all the finances it would need to carry out its mandate and hold the elections. According to Nandlall, however, one of the key reasons for the delay is the political dynamics of GECOM, where the Commissioners have been unable to find a consensus.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that the blame for this cannot be put at the Government’s feet. We have budgeted the money and have done everything possible, including fixing the date for the elections,” Nandlall said.
“It is the Opposition members of the Commission, who have been raising one objection after another to delay this election. We have been compromising on every occasion they raise these objections. And every time we compromise, they shift the goalpost and raise another objection,” he stated.
He also expressed hope that the international community was observing what was happening at GECOM and that as the Government was “ready, willing and anxious” to hold and participate in LGE, blame for failing to hold the polls would not lie with the Government.
More than $750 million was set aside in Budget 2022 for the preparations to be undertaken by GECOM for the hosting of the LGE this year. This money was part of an overall $4.1 billion allocation to GECOM in Budget 2022.
In October 2022, Dharamlall set Monday, March 13, 2023 as the date for hosting the long-overdue local government polls in Guyana. This was the earliest date that GECOM indicated the elections could be held.
But in December, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Chief Scrutineer, Carol Smith Joseph filed legal action against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), challenging the process used to compile the List of Electors, or Voters’ List, for the upcoming LGE.
Joseph, through her Attorney Roysdale Forde, SC, sought a series of declarations: that GECOM acted ultra vires and unlawfully in compiling the List of Voters for LGE; that the action of the Chief Elections Officer and/or the Commissioner of National Registration in extracting a List of Electors pursuant to GECOM’s order is similarly ultra vires and unlawful; that GECOM acted in dereliction of its duty under the relevant electoral laws; and that GECOM has a constitutional duty to ensure that registration of electors is conducted in accordance with the law.
“The process employed by the Commission to prepare a Register of Voters for use at the next Local Government Elections has deprived the electors and/or voters of the opportunity to object to persons on the Register of Voters in the manner provided for in, and contemplated by, Local Authorities (Elections) Act Cap. 28:03” is one of the grounds stated in the legal document.
Another outlined that “The process employed by the Commission to prepare a Register of Voters for use at the next Local Government Elections has not been in accordance with the Local Authorities (Elections) Act.”
To this end, Joseph has asked the court to grant orders setting aside GECOM’s order to extract a List of Electors for Local Government Elections “…on the ground and for the reason that the said Order, No. 55 of 2022, is ultra vires and unlawful.”
She also wants the court to set aside the extraction of the List of Electors by the Chief Elections Officer and/or the Commissioner of National Registration; as well as for an order to be granted compelling the Elections Commission to comply with the relevant sections of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Cap 28:03.
Another order was also sought to direct and/or compel GECOM to compile a register of voters in accordance with the provisions set out in the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Cap 28:03 before conducting any LGE in Guyana. (G3)