Opposition flays GECOM Chair for ‘lack of impartiality and objectivity”

The Opposition, A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), has expressed concern with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh continuing to cast her vote, always with the Government-nominated Commissioners.

At the Leader of the Opposition press conference last Thursday, advisor Elson Low said Singh’s partiality is consistent with a quote of Opposition-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander that such voting pattern “brings into question GECOM`s fitness for purpose as an impartial electoral body.”

Recent appointments of senior staff have again exposed Singh’s incapacity and unwillingness to ensure GECOM can win the trust and confidence of the Guyanese public, the Opposition pointed out.

Stating that “Instead of seeking to foster compromise and consensus among GECOM commissioners, [Singh] has allowed the tyranny of the majority to prevail. She has used her casting vote to override or ignore well-established administrative laws, rules, and principles. She has turned the Commission into a PPP stooge instead of the independent entity that the constitution envisages and the citizens expect.”

The recent appointment of Mr. Aneal Giddings as the Deputy Chief Elections Officer is a case in point, the Opposition noted.  “Mr. Giddings’ selection and appointment could not have been possible but for Chairperson Claudette Singh joining with the PPP commissioners to manipulate and disfigure the employment process. The records show he was not the most qualified candidate nor, worse, did he even meet the qualification criteria. Yet the GECOM chair voted for him to be selected and appointed.”

Commissioner Alexander had publicly stated, elsewhere, this is the third successive occasion GECOM has contrived to appoint a candidate who has not met the mandatory requirement, with the previous being the appointment of the Chief Elections Officer and the Assistant Chief Elections Officer (ACEO). In the latter case, the position was re-advertised even though at least four of the original applicants met the requirements and were shortlisted on both occasions., noted the APNU+AFC.  The opposition sees such a conduct as collusion between government-nominated commissioners and Chairperson to allow a retiree who had not previously applied to get the job.

The Opposition has called on Justice Singh “to explain these and her other disgraceful acts – all of which favour the PPP” to the public.  “She must stand before the people of Guyana and fully account to them. She must show integrity and decency. She must restore public trust in her stewardship and in the commission. Failing to do any of these, she must go.”