While the opposition parties are calling for the reform of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) in the light of serious shortcomings in the conduct of the November 28, 2011 polls, they are not calling for the immediate removal of Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodoo since they believe that the reforms needed should be wider ranging than the removal of the CEO.
Speaking on his own behalf, Khemraj Ramjattan of the Alliance for Change (AFC) said he does not believe there should be a rush to replace Boodoo despite the misgivings and dissatisfaction expressed by many stakeholders over the past months subsequent to the 2011 elections.
“In relation to his performance at the last elections, we feel it was not satisfactory as we would have desired,” he said. But Ramjattan noted that because of the difficulty that would be posed in sourcing a replacement that would have the competency level and institutional memory and knowledge as Boodoo, it might be better to have him remain. “We might get one that is worse than him,” said Ramjattan.
He said that it might be a better idea to depoliticise the commission itself instead of just removing the Chief Elections Officer. “As to his position I do not believe that he was intentionally biased. So until we could find a better person we must work with him. We need to take out the politicos and depoliticise the commission,” said Ramjattan. He said that it is the political influence that powers have on the commission that does the damage to its work.
Ramjattan said that however flawed the commission is at present, it is much better than the days of the PNC administration when elections were rigged. “Elections under Gecom’s present system have come a far way,” he said. “We have to now evolve to a higher standard to being professional rather than political,” he said.
However, he noted that while persons there could be politically affiliated, they must demonstrate integrity and credibility. “People must be seen as performing a professional job,” Ramjattan said.
Speaking for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Dr Rupert Roopnaraine said that the issues at Gecom should not be reduced to the removal of one person. “Our verification exercise showed that the entire system was dysfunctional,” he said. He said APNU made the argument that the establishment of the IT panel was not done in time so that it would be able to monitor the input of information into the system.
Further, the APNU said the commission usurped the work of the secretariat and this is something that needs to be addressed in a holistic manner, not by merely removing the Chief Elections Officer.
APNU’s poll exercise verification found that a final list of polling stations was not provided to political parties by Gecom. It found also that Gecom was unable to produce a list of polling stations that were changed or consolidated in the five days prior to elections.
The party’s verification found misconduct and illegal acts in the holding of last year’s general elections, and said there was no reliable basis to determine who won the presidency.
Boodoo has been a target of critics since the November 28, 2011 elections, after it was discovered that there was a miscalculation with the results, nearly resulting in the PPP/C gaining its victory with a majority in the Parliament.
A source in Gecom said the miscalculation was observed upon checks of Boodoo’s submission after commissioners perused those submissions.
Chairman of Gecom Dr Steve Surujbally said that the miscalculation was due to human error.
With the seat allocation being subsequently adjusted accordingly, the commissioners gave approval to the CEO to make the official declaration thereafter, with the final announcement of the results of the elections coming on the afternoon of December 1, 2011.
During the examination of the estimates, the combined opposition made cuts to funds for Gecom totalling $527 million saying that the necessary reforms must be made before that money could be approved.
An allocation of $902.8 million for Gecom under ‘other’ was reduced by $500 million while an allocation of $53.7 million for refreshments and meals was cut by $27 million.
By making the reduction, observers say, the opposition may have impeded Gecom’s ability to run off snap elections were they to be called by the government. The funding was intended for preparations for overdue local government polls, but the opposition opted to withhold it until agreed legislative reforms are in place. However, Surujbally, in a recent comment to this newspaper said Gecom would be ready for snap elections were those to be called.
Surujbally said that as Gecom goes into action only then would it know the impact of the reduction. “My instinctive action is that it will not hurt us deeply,” he had said.
