– says he’s trying to contaminate President’s view on GECOM chairmanship
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, opining that the powers of Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams have been clipped following the establishment of a Ministerial Council of Legal Advisors to assist him perform his duties, is contending that Minister Williams is now trying to contaminate President Granger’s personal views on the new list of candidates submitted for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairmanship.
“The value of (Williams’s) advice has been diminished in the administration because (his advice has) been so horrendously bad and (has) embarrassed the administration on so many occasions… He is now trying to contaminate the President’s view by (using) his cronies and sycophants (to speak) about the nature of the people, and (is creating) a problem (because) these people can’t defend themselves,” Jagdeo told reporters at a recent press briefing.
The Opposition Leader was referring to attacks made by Attorney-at-Law Maxwell Edwards – via a letter to the editor — on the character of the six new candidates Jagdeo has submitted for the Gecom chairmanship position. Jagdeo believes that the lawyer is a sycophant of the Legal Affairs Minister.
“It’s gutter letter writing. Who is he to determine ‘fit and proper’? The President should do that. (Maxwell) does not do it as an ordinary citizen, he’s doing it vindictively, with a purpose in mind. And I want to find out if he is in the employ of the Government. You’ll be surprised how many people who you think are independent are employed by the State,” the Opposition Leader posited.
According to Jagdeo, Edwards came on his radar after he had attacked the candidates.
“I don’t have a problem that he criticises me. I’m a public official. But he’s already started a character assassination, I believe, of the individuals on that list, and these people can’t defend themselves,” the Opposition Leader posited.
The candidates on the second list submitted to the Head of State are: Justice of Appeal B.S Roy (ret’d); Justice William Ramlall (ret’d); Attorney-at-law and former Magistrate Oneidge Walrond-Allicock; Attorney-at-law Kashir Khan; Attorney-at-law Nadia Sagar; and prominent businessman Captain Gerald Gouveia.
Jagdeo pointed out: “In respect (to) the names which I submitted to the President, one is a former judge of the Court of Appeal of Guyana; one is a former judge of the High Court of Guyana; three are attorneys-at-law with over ten(10) years of good standing at the Guyana Bar; and one is a former magistrate and (is) therefore (qualified) to be (a) judges of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in Guyana, in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana; and one is a former Captain of the Guyana Defence Force, a pilot and a businessman and entrepreneur.”
The Opposition Leader noted that arriving at the six new candidates proved to be quite a challenge, more so with regard to the antecedents in relation to this matter.
“I embarked upon an elaborate and protracted public and private consultative process which lasted several weeks, during which I solicited the views of, and sought nominations from, many nationally renowned persons and various important stakeholders and representative organizations in my efforts to ensure that I present six (6) names to the President who satisfy the requirements contemplated by Article 161(2) of the Constitution,” Jagdeo said in a statement.
Last year, after extensive consultations with various stakeholders, the Opposition Leader had submitted his first list of nominees for the position of GECOM Chairman. Those names included Governance and Conflict Resolution Specialist Lawrence Lachmansingh; Attorney-at-Law and Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram; Businesswoman and former broadcast executive Rhyaan Shah; Retired Major General Norman Mc Lean; Business Executive Ramesh Dookhoo; and History Professor Dr James Rose.
However, in January 2017, the President officially responded to the Leader of the Opposition by stating that the nominees submitted for consideration for the post were “unacceptable”.
Granger had justified his decision to reject the list of nominees submitted by Jagdeo by stating that Guyana’s Constitution (Article 161 (2)) asserts that a current or sitting judge or someone eligible to be a judge in Guyana or the Commonwealth Caribbean is preferred to be appointed as Chairman of the electoral body.