An act unprecedented in the history of sports will take place today with the staging of two elections by the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB).
Yesterday, the two factions told Stabroek Sports that separate elections will be held today at the Wales and Lusignan Community Centres.
The warring sides, headed by DCB president Bissondyal Singh and vice-president Anand Sanasie, indicated yesterday on separate occasions that they do not recognize the eligibility of each other’s claim to hold elections.
Sanasie’s side called a press conference at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) pavilion to announce that they will be going ahead with their elections.
Singh, after a hearing in chambers yesterday at the High Court with Judge Rishi Persaud, said that the other side does not have the authority. Singh is claiming that he is responsible for deciding where and when elections will be held while Sanasie’s group is saying that at the January 17 meeting, which was ordered by Chief Justice Ian Chang, the majority of the executives agreed to the resolution that was read to have the elections held at Wales.
On January 18, Sanasie’s faction called a press conference to announce that the elections will be held at Wales, which was contrary to what was reported after the Special General Meeting.
On the day that meeting was held, Singh brought another injunction when Chief Justice Ian Chang ordered the secretary Raj Singh, who has pledged his allegiance to Sanasie, not to convene any meeting that was not sanctioned by the president. This ruling was specified yesterday when the parties returned to the High Court.
At yesterday’s hearing, attorney representing the president, Anil Nandalall, told Stabroek Sports that he pointed out to the hearing that there is the possibility of two separate AGMs and therefore this should be allowed to take place.
However, he noted that Judge Persaud, who took over the case from Chang, will have to make a decision on which election is the legitimate one.
Nandalall, while pointing out that this was a regrettable situation, also indicated that Sanasie’s side filed an affidavit in answer at around 14:30 hours, half an hour before yesterday’s hearing but said he did not have a chance to read the document.
He then asked for an adjournment so that he may have time to prepare a response by January 28 when the two sides are scheduled to return to court.
Yesterday, Singh called on all delegates to come out and exercise their franchise.
He also warned the other side that their election will be against the constitution and that they cannot put mechanisms in place to hold a separate AGM when he has a say in the affairs of the board.
According to Singh he cannot understand the challenge he is facing which in the end will result in the further decline of the game.
At the press conference yesterday, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the DCB, Rovin Stanley, pointed out that “the minority group of executives who opposed the resolution passed at the Executive Meeting of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) held on January 17, 2010 to this date refuses to respect the democratic process and was creating chaos and confusion at all levels. “The majority of executives who voted on the motion would respect the democratic process as that is the only way cricket will win in the end,” Stanley said.
At the January 17 executive meeting, Stanley claimed that seven of the 13 executives “endorsed a motion which paved the way for the meeting to be held on January 22, 2011 at 14:00 hrs at the Wales Community Development Centre, Wales, West Bank Demerara.”
He also stated that the resolution settled the allocation of delegates to the four sub-associations:
Georgetown (10), West Bank Demerara (14), East Coast Demerara (14) and East Bank Demerara (14).
Also at the press conference yesterday Sanasie, who was endorsed for president of the DCB by president of East Bank Cricket Association, Rohan Sarjoo, accused Singh of always being in battle with his executive and the result is that the game suffers.
In response to the Stabroek Sport question about a power struggle, Sanasie said that there was none but said one man, referring to Singh, wanted to be a “dictator”.
Sanasie and the secretary Raj Singh also believe that the board is experiencing these problems because the president is looking to contest the position of president of the Guyana Cricket Board.
They supported this argument by contending that if Singh returns as president, he will have the votes to ensure an easier accession to the GCB helm.
That side of the faction believes that the DCB is being used “as a football”, citing that there have been six legal matters and the president had always been the catalyst.
At the press conference it was also said that the president wants the game to be played in the courtroom and they believe that since 75 percent of the executive has expressed “a no-confidence vote” against him he is trying all to “fudge the democratic process.”
