Battle lines drawn in search for Chief Election Officer

Opposition-nominated GECOM commissioners have shortlisted only three overseas applicants for the post of Chief Election Officer (CEO) while the government side has selected these persons in addition to three Guyanese including two currently working in the electoral system.

When deliberations begin next week on the candidates, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh SC will likely have a key say on who will be on the final list for consideration.

Director-General of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and Regional Manager at the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, Leslie Oliver Harrow; St Kitts Election Official Eugene Godfrey Petty and Dr Kurt Clarke from Texas were among the initial 20 persons who applied for the post. They are now among the six names shortlisted as GECOM gets the process of interviewing underway.