Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, has declared that he favours no specific party for any position in the impending Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) elections. He declares his sole concern is the legitimacy of those elections.
“I don’t have a dog in the race. It doesn’t matter who the person is, once the (electoral) process is legal. I don’t care about individuals; they come and go,” Ramson made clear.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr (Photo: Brandon Corlette)
Further, he explained that he is engaging all contesting parties, and is not “cherry-picking any group”.
“Some people may want to labour under the impression that I have a (favoured) group, but I am telling you this is where I stand: I don’t care who ends up as the President (of GCB), I care about the process; because you don’t want anyone questioning the legitimacy of the body,” Minister Ramson explained during his visit at Albion.
The East Coast Demerara Cricket Board elections are also imminent, but Ramson anticipates conflict therein, with some individuals stating that this group does not really play cricket.
“I have started to meet with them, and the court will have to order a date for the Demerara Cricket Board (to hold elections),” Ramson said.
He noted that a court order had set the stage for the Guyana Cricket Board to hold elections, and he gave insight into the specifics of the Act and what transpired. Reflecting that the bill was passed in 2014 with support from both major parties in Parliament, he said interested stakeholders had then challenged its constitutionality, but that challenge was dismissed. An appeal was then filed, and in interlocutory proceedings by a single judge in chambers, Justice Dawn Gregory, former Attorney General Basil Williams and previous Sport Minister Dr George Norton consented to the suspension of the Act.
The Court of Appeal, a few weeks ago, discharged the order suspending certain parts of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act, thus paving the way for elections to be held for office-bearers of both the Demerara and Guyana Cricket Boards. Those elections are expected to occur shortly.
