The PPP/C-nominated commissioners on the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) yesterday alleged that vital information is being withheld from them.
At a press conference at Freedom House, commissioners Bibi Shadick, Robeson Benn and Sase Gunraj were asked about the purchase of radio sets and pliers being procured prior to the March, 2015 general and regional elections but they said they were not aware.
Reports are that an investigation has been launched after the Audit Office recognised some discrepancies with the purchasing of 50 VHF radio sets, valued almost $100M, for outlying areas and pliers worth $14M.
Gecom’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield is currently on annual leave and Shadick said if that were not the case, they would have asked him to go on leave to facilitate the investigation.
Asked how no questions were raised in spite of millions of dollars being spent on the procurement, Shadick responded that while the PPP/C was in government Gecom was regarded as a “special entity” and they did not question too much because they did not want to be accused of stymieing the elections process.
Now, she said, the commission has to give approval for spending, while before that “it was an agency taking money from the regular body.”
Gunraj said that from the time he joined the commission in February, 2015, he has attended all of the meetings and that no mention was made about the procurement or use of the radio sets or pliers, even when the issue of communication was raised.
The commissioners said too that the commission has not received a report from the Gecom Secretariat about the 2015 elections nor the 2016 local government elections.
“The excuse given by the Chief Election Officer for not producing that report and presenting it to the commission for deliberation,” is the pending elections petition filed by former minister Ganga Persaud, Benn said.
He added that during extensive discussion at the level of the commission, they pointed out that the financial aspect of the report would not affect the court document.
Benn said too that they had “insisted that a preliminary report should be provided and eventually a final report but there seems to be an insistence that no report should be provided and that it is really sad.”
Benn also complained that while statutory meetings are fixed for every Tuesday, they cannot be held because Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally is currently on leave.
He said they had asked for a co-chair so that meetings can be called in the event of an urgent issue and “the chairman can come out.”
The commissioners also highlighted the issue of the procurement of ballot papers for the 2016 local government polls and Shadick said that they have been demanding that they get the report and information and that an investigation be launched.
Benn said he got on to Dr. Surujbally and tried to arrange a meeting in order to have a “lock down” of documentation and files and to prevent access to those information. He said the Chairman “refused again, pointblank, to have a meeting. I don’t know if we have to go there and demonstrate and behave badly or make noise to get a meeting of a constitutional commission….”
He said too that the commissioners were supposed to be facilitated both sides with respect to having offices, clerical and other services, but that was refused.
