While President David Granger has said that a Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) can be appointed by Monday and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed a willingness to meet, efforts to arrange a meeting between the two were still to yield a result up to last evening.
At press time, representatives of Granger and Jagdeo were still sharing correspondence on the issue but no meeting had been arranged.
In an address to the nation following a ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Friday, Granger indicated “elections have to be held in the shortest possible time and, therefore, it is crucial to appoint a chairman of the Elections Commission.”
He went on to claim that such an appointment could be done as early as Monday if the opposition is prepared to act in a consensual manner and in good faith. Jagdeo, through Gail Teixeira, wrote Granger on Friday evening to convey his availability to meet at any time and throughout the weekend to work on a list of names for consideration for appointment to the post, in accordance with the constitution.
Teixeira yesterday said a response had been received from Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon and she was in the process of responding. Neither Harmon’s letter nor Teixeira’s response had been made public up to press time.
Article 161(2) of the Constitution, which provides for the appointment of the GECOM Chairperson, says the office holder is to be appointed by the President from a list of six persons, not unacceptable to the President, submitted by the Leader of the Opposition after meaningful consultation with the non-governmental political parties represented in the National Assembly.
