President Granger needs to respect our Constitution (Part 2)

Dear Editor,
President Granger’s unilateral decision to appoint an 84-year-old man with ties to the People’s National Congress (PNC) as the new Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, is nothing more than shameful. He has disregarded his own criteria in selecting the 84-year-old retired Justice James Patterson in violation of Article 161-2 of the Guyana Constitution. Earlier, in a letter to the Leader of the Opposition, President Granger insisted that the new GECOM Chairman must have “wide electoral knowledge and capable of handling electoral matters.” There is no evidence that Justice Patterson has any electoral knowledge or experience. Granger also insisted that the person to be selected as the new GECOM Chairman must “not be an activist in any form; gender, racial or religious nor should that person have any political affiliation or should not belong to any political party in any form, apparent or hidden.” The 84-year-old Patterson was a pallbearer at Merriman’s Funeral Home at the funeral of former President Hugh Desmond Hoyte, where all the other pallbearers were hard core leaders, activists and supporters of the PNC. In addition, Justice Patterson is known to be a preacher of religion.
The President also said the person to be appointed as the GECOM Head, “should have a general character of honesty, integrity, faithfulness and diligence in the discharge of their duty as Chairman of GECOM.”
When asked why he decided to handpick the 84-year-old for this position, the President said it is because of his extensive experience as a former Chief Justice of Grenada.
But here is the problem… Patterson LIED on his résumé. He was never a Chief Justice of Grenada, and it took two weeks of hounding by journalists before he finally admitted that it was “a slip of the pen” that caused him to lie on his Curriculum Vitae (CV). Retired Justice Patterson should also now retire as the new GECOM Chairman.
Justice Patterson was not truthful, not transparent, and lacks the credibility to be fair and impartial in his capacity as the Chairman of GECOM. It is obvious that President Granger was determined to disregard the process of due diligence in his appointment of Patterson for the same reason he has failed to withdraw his appointment for lying on his CV.
The People’s Progressive Party has an obligation to condemn, expose and embarrass the illegal and unconstitutional actions of this President before he turns into a full-blown dictator like his idol, the late Forbes Burnham.
I believe President Granger was looking for a confrontation with the Opposition by coming to Parliament so soon after his highly controversial decision to unilateral appoint retired Justice Patterson as the new GECOM Chairman. He wanted to ‘test the waters’ to determine the level of our “non-cooperation”. And now, he should realise just how serious we are. Dis time na like lang time.
This President does not respect our Constitution; he does not respect the people. He does not respect the Leader of the Opposition; he does not even respect his own word. President Granger issued a joint statement saying he would work with the Leader of the Opposition collaboratively to appoint the GECOM Chairman. He mislead both the Leader of the Opposition and the nation.
The late Malcolm X,  a courageous advocate for the rights of black Americans  once said, “I have more respect for a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he’s wrong, than the one who comes up like an angel and is nothing but a devil.”
I have the greatest of respect for the Office of the President, but this President will get none from me. David Granger is no angel, he is a budding dictator. He does not deserve our respect.

Sincerely,
HARRY GILL
PPP/C Member
of Parliament