Claiming a likelihood of bias, Senior Counsel Stanley Marcus on behalf of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has asked that Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire recuse herself from hearing the challenge filed by chartered accountant Christopher Ram to the current house-to-house registration.
The matter is set to come up before the judge on Friday.
According to a press statement issued by Ram’s attorney, Anil Nandlall, at approximately 4 yesterday afternoon, an application was purportedly filed on behalf of the GECOM by Marcus, who requested that the Chief Justice recuse herself from hearing the matter.
According to the statement, Marcus’ application was made on the basis that the Chief Justice previously issued a press release that allegedly contained “certain statements which raise the likelihood of bias” on her part.
Nandlall said he would address the application at a hearing set for this afternoon at 5 before Justice George-Wiltshire.
However, he noted that when his client’s matter came up for hearing before the chief judge last Tuesday, Neil Boston SC informed the court that he, in association with Senior Counsel Rex McKay and Roysdale Forde, was representing the Chief Election Officer and Commis-sioner of National Registration Keith Lowenfield.
No one, he said, appeared for the GECOM, while adding that the “Attorney-General appeared in person.”
Nandlall said he has since consulted with three at least three Commissioners of GECOM and has been advised that the Commission has not met since June 11th and former Chairman of the body Justice (retired) James Patterson officially demitted office on June 24th, and that the new Chairman was yet to commission a meeting with the Commissioners.
Nandlall further noted that the application filed by Marcus was supported by an affidavit sworn to by Lowenfield, which he says compounds the anomaly.
According to counsel, the Constitution is clear in Article 161 (1) that “the GECOM shall consist of a Chairman and the Commissioners.”
On this point he noted, “Lowenfield is not part of GECOM, hence he is represented by different Counsel in the case.”
In the circumstances, Nandlall said, “I feel compelled to ask: who retained and authorized Mr. Stanley Marcus to file this application? It certainly cannot be GECOM.”
According to him, the matter currently before the court is new and one cannot argue that the same authority, by which Marcus appeared for GECOM before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), continues to apply.
“GECOM should publicly state its position on this matter, earliest,” Nandlall opined in his statement.
Following the hearing last Tuesday, the Supreme Court had issued a press release in which it noted that there was some misinformation carried in the news by different sections of the media with reference to Ram’s application.
Among other things, the Chief Justice (ag) stated that the consequential orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice indicate that elections be held by September 18, 2019, or such longer period as the National Assembly determines.
