Former Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Vishnu Persaud has won just under $5M in a lawsuit he brought against the Guyana Chronicle and GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander for defamatory statements they made about him.
Referencing a number of case law authorities, Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry in her ruling dated August 18th, said among other things that the ordinary person reading the words used against Persaud would not only infer that he lacked the relevant qualifications for the position of Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) which he sought with the Commission, but that he was involved in dishonest conduct to obtain the position.
“These statements were an attack on the Claimant’s professional reputation and amounts to defamation, the judge said.