Three weeks after terminating the contract of the Chief Election Officer (CEO), the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is still to finalise the advertisement needed to secure his replacement.
Speaking with the Sunday Stabroek, government-nominated commissioner Sase Gunraj stated that the advertisement is expected to be finalised at Tuesday’s meeting.
He explained that currently there is no disagreement on the duties of the position as its parameters are codified in Guyana’s electoral laws. The necessary qualifications and possible remuneration have not yet been discussed at the level of the Commission.
Simultaneously an advertisement will be issued for the post of Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) as the contract for former DCEO Roxanne Myers was also terminated on August 13.
Myers, CEO Keith Lowenfield and Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo all had their contracts terminated after the government-nominated commissioners moved motions accusing them of contributing to a loss of public trust in the institution.
The initial motions laid on June 1 calling for the officers to be dismissed were amended to allow for contract termination after the CEO challenged the action in Court.
In his submission to the Court, Lowenfield had argued that his contract of employment provides for two bases for termination of services – either via a three-month notice – or without notice for “gross misconduct,” providing that he would be given written notice setting out clearly the reason for termination and giving the CEO an opportunity to respond.
Lowenfield’s contention had been not whether the Commission can terminate his services—as he says it has the power to so do—but rather the Commission’s intention of summarily dismissing him in breach of his contract and in a manner which he said did not lend itself to a fair hearing, given that two government-nominated commissioners, Gunraj and Bibi Shadick, had filed complaints against him that served as the basis for the dismissal motion. Lowenfield advanced that the two would be biased and that he would be denied the right to a fair hearing.
It had been expected that the Commission would move swiftly following the terminations to fill the resulting vacancies as part of attempts to hold Local Government Elections which are due to be held between November and December of 2021.
