Sources have informed Stabroek News that the Commissioners of the Guyana Elections Commission will have a meeting on June 11 and it is expected that the fate of Chief Election Officer Gocool Boodoo will be decided at that meeting.
Boodoo proceeded on leave ahead towards the end of April ahead of the expiration of his contract at the end of that month.
Opposition-nominated members of GECOM vehemently oppose Boodoo’s continuing in the job. This is following his initial miscalculation of the November 28, 2011 poll results that would have seen the PPP/C declared the winner by an outright majority.
Following Boodoo’s contract expiration, GECOM began considering and reviewing his tenure with a view to making a decision on his request for a new contract.
PPP/C-nominated commissioner Dr Keshav Mangal, in a letter to the newspaper published last month said all commissioners agreed that GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally must present them with his evaluation for their consideration as well as any warning letter and any correspondences he would have sent to Boodoo during his tenure, in order for them to arrive at a fair evaluation that fulfils the tenets of natural justice.
Mangal in his letter said that it was a unanimous decision that all appointments/renewals of contracts for senior level staff must come before the full commission for its evaluation and appointment.
Following the declaration of election results on December 1, 2011, one of the commissioners confirmed that Boodoo was about to declare the PPP/C winners of the elections by a majority. According to sources, Boodoo had miscalculated the allocation of seats in the National Assembly, but this was corrected after a commissioner objected, noting that “it was obvious” something was not right with the results.
The Commission unanimously accepted the miscalculation as human error by the commissioners. The seat allocation was then adjusted accordingly and the commissioners gave the CEO approval to make the final declaration, resulting in the combined opposition having one seat more than the government.
