Dear Editor,
Justice Claudette Singh is one of our nation’s distinguished daughters.
She also famously presided over the Elections Petition case, which Esther Pereira, in the interest of the People’s National Congress (PNC) party, brought against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in 1998. In her ruling, she declared that the elections law amendment Act No. 22 of 1997 was ultra vires Articles 59 and 159 of the Guyana Constitution and as a consequence, the said act was null and void. She also declared that the elections were not conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act Chapter 1:03 and articles 59 and 159 of the Constitution of Guyana and were therefore unlawful. She ruled unambiguously and did not leave wiggle room for GECOM to defy the law.
It is clear that Justice Singh is no stranger to our electoral laws and our Constitution. We, under most circumstances, are lucky to have someone of her reputation and calibre at the helm of GECOM. We also recall that she was famously quoted in the January 11th, 2020 edition of Kaieteur News as saying, “I will not sell my integrity for all of the oil in Guyana.”
Sadly, since March 3rd, the country has not witnessed the leadership of which we know she is capable. Since said date, we have witnessed a number of unusual events. A fictitious bomb threat was made which plainly served the purpose of clearing the room and breaking the chain of custody for the Region 4 Statements of Polls (SOPs); Mr. Mingo hurriedly declared election results for Region 4 after circumventing the lawful process and was subsequently whisked away from the building under heavy police escort; accredited observers and party agents were manhandled by riot police who appeared to be acting under external instructions; GECOM decided to project tabulation results on a makeshift screen which obstructed the view of party agents and observers in a bid to avoid a transparent verification process for Region 4 results; and finally GECOM hired lawyers who were closely aligned to one of the political parties that contested the elections.
To add insult to injury, in the midst of the chaos that had ensued, a Minister of Government thought it appropriate to disclose on public television that staff of the GECOM had expressed concerns regarding their safety directly to him bypassing the command structure at GECOM. The fact that GECOM’s staff were relaying their concerns to a member of one of the contesting parties and not the Chairperson of GECOM is deeply troubling.
Also of great concern were the theatrics that transpired at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) as the high-level CARICOM team, accredited observers and representatives of all political parties (notably, except APNU) gathered and waited peacefully all day for a recount to commence. After hours of waiting with no update from the GECOM, it became clear that the process would once again be delayed. The nation suffered another disappointment, although Justice Singh had given her word that a transparent and lawful recount of the Region 4 results would be conducted, and she had supported the CARICOM intervention.
There will be enough legal luminaries this morning to explain why a transparent and fair count of Region 4 and all other regions is possible. However, our intent here is to beseech Justice Singh to take control and ensure that GECOM delivers transparent and credible election results to the Guyanese electorate. Justice Singh has an intimate knowledge of the Constitution and knows that the only way to have a credible election is for GECOM to undertake a free, fair and transparent process for the tallying of Region 4 results, as well as a complete recount of all other regions if that is the threshold that satisfies the public. Any political party that has declared victory in these elections should also want to have a transparent recount in order to avoid doubt being cast on their legitimacy.
Justice Singh’s job is not an enviable one and it cannot be easy, given what she inherited. However, as Chairperson of the GECOM, she has one supreme purpose – to deliver credible elections. For this, Justice Singh, has the full force of the law behind her and we at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), as spokespeople and representatives of a business community, stand with her and believe that she still can and will do the right thing to honour her sacred role of delivering credible elections.
Justice Singh once said that she would not trade her integrity for all of the oil in Guyana, and we must believe that her unwavering conviction still stands.
Yours faithfully,
Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer
President
Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry
