Dear Editor,
With respect to the controversial appointment of Roxanne Myers as Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), I’ve noticed that the defence has shifted its argument to one of academic superiority.
This position – like the earlier one about merit – cannot hold sway, as neither candidate received their degree from an institution that is top-rated. In fact, an online search revealed that the UN mandated University for Peace from which Myers obtained her Master’s degree is ranked 3756 by Ranking Web of Universities online (See http://www.webometrics.info/en).
The same site ranks the Anglia Ruskin University from which Vishnu Persaud obtained his Masters at 1178.
This brings me back to the view of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who was quoted as saying that the issue at hand has more to do with the absence of fairness in the entire process – a position I agree with.
Mr Persaud met all the advertised criteria. He has a post graduate degree, qualification in elections management, experience in the management of national elections, and much more. He is therefore the ‘superior’, ‘fit and proper’ candidate. In spite of this, he was sidelined in favour of Myers, whose social media-adumbrated, partisan political views disqualify her from holding such a sensitive position.
Further, what makes the process even more questionable is the fact that Myers’s chief defender, Commissioner Vincent Alexander, neglects to disclose their teacher-student relationship at the University of Guyana.
Clearly, this shows that there was no fairness involved in the process; and that persons, in spite of their experience and qualifications, are being sidestepped in preference for handpicked supporters of the APNU/AFC.
Regards,
Attiya Baksh
