After more than three hours of deliberation, the Guyana Elections Com-mission (GECOM) on Friday selected Vishnu Persaud to be the new Chief Election Officer (CEO), bringing an end to the more than three-month-long process to fill the post.
With the government- and opposition-nominated commissioners split on the candidacy of Persaud and Jamaican Leslie Harrow, respectively, the final decision rested with GECOM Chairperson retired Justice Claudette Singh, who endorsed Persaud’s selection at an extraordinary meeting of the Commission.
Persaud is GECOM’s former Public Relations Officer and Deputy CEO, while Harrow is the former head of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and a current Zonal Manager with the Electoral Office of Jamaica.
In a statement on the decision, GECOM said Justice Singh, in justifying the selection, indicated that having heard the Commis-sioners and having read the endorsement of the former Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally, she was of the view that Mr. Persaud had acquired institutional knowledge, having been employed with GECOM for seventeen (17) years.
“Justice Singh posited that Mr. Persaud is knowledgeable not only with the understanding and management of the work of the CEO’s office and the operational functions of the Secretariat but also with the geography of Guyana’s ten (10) Administrative Regions.
“Owing to the reasons highlighted, Justice Singh noted that she has no hesitation in endorsing Mr. Persaud’s appointment since he has the necessary skills, experience, and expertise that makes him eminently qualified to handle the job,” the statement added.
Persaud is expected to take up his post next week, pending the finalisation of all procedural and contractual matters. The Commis-sion said that it is hopeful that given his “extensive experience”, Persaud will be able to execute his duties with excellence and within the confines of the law.
Persaud is replacing Keith Lowenfield, whose contract was terminated by the Commission. (Lowenfield is currently facing charges of committing forgery and misconduct during the process to tally votes from the 2020 general and regional elections.) His first major challenge is expected to be the holding of local government elections, which have been officially postponed due to the GECOM’s inability to prepare for the polls without a CEO.
Superlative
In his endorsement letter, seen by the Stabroek News, Surujbally wrote: “Persaud possesses that combination of intelligence, modesty, reliability, and, yes, ambition – always aspiring to improve himself and the organisation with which he is associated. I have alluded above to his organizational efficiency and indefatigability. But Mr Persaud is quite aware that he and his organization (in this case GECOM) cannot implement the best-laid plans if the activities are not conducted by all members of the team working together.”
He added, “It is because of the direct and functional relationship between Mr Persaud and myself, during my fifteen and a half years as GECOM’S Chairman, that I submit this considered opinion that Mr Vishnu Persaud can only be a superlative Chief Election Officer/Commissioner of Registration at GECOM, and I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him to that position.”
In the prelude to his endorsement, Surujbally proffered his opinion on Persaud’s years at the Commission, describing, in detail, how he would have enhanced the work of GECOM. He sold Persaud as someone who is intimately au fait with the practices and functioning of the Commission having been involved in the various aspects of its work. It was Surujbally who invited Persaud, back in November 2001, to apply for the position of PRO. Persaud was then the Personal Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture.
Not qualified
Notwithstanding Surujbally’s recommendation, the opposition-nominated Commissioners – Vincent Alexander, Desmond Trotman and Charles Corbin – yesterday remained adamant that Persaud is wholly unqualified for the post of CEO.
During an emergency press conference yesterday afternoon, they contended that the selection process was flawed from the inception. They contended that the mere rejection of an independent panel to conduct the interviewing of the applicants showed that GECOM had no intention of displaying a neutral position.
“Prior to now, we have contended the process was flawed insofar as persons’ whose preferences were made public prior to the shortlisting – Mr Harrow’s qualifications, taken as a whole – are by far superior… to that of Mr Persaud. The Chairperson, in making her decision relied on the testimonial provided by the previous Chairperson. That gives credence to the contention that the entire process was a travesty,” Alexander told the media.
He further stated that no endorsement letter should supersede the criteria of qualification.
The GECOM vacancy notice, published in early October, stated that the CEO is expected to play the key leadership role of GECOM’s Secretariat and is tasked with the responsibility for implementing all aspects of its operations, and ensuring that results achieved are consistent with the laws of Guyana and the policies determined by the Commission. The criteria, perhaps the most important shortlisting aspect, stipulates that the CEO is required to be the holder of a Master’s Degree and have 10 years of experience in electoral matters.
The criteria have been an area of contention since their establishment, with the Opposition-nominated Commissioners claiming that they are more tailored towards hiring within the Commission.
Based on Persaud’s application, submitted to GECOM and seen by this publication, he claims to have over 15 years of direct official involvement at GECOM in the preparation for and the conduct of general and regional elections, local government elections and cycles of continuous registration.
“The range of my work over the years includes (i) performing duties as scribe to the Commission, (ii) Personal Assistant to the Chairman (de facto), (iii) Human Resource Management, (iv) preparing and implementing election and registration Work Plans, and (v) carrying out the duties of the CEO during periods of his absence,” his application letter states.
Persaud’s CV states that he functioned as DCEO from August 2014 to August 2017. He would miss out on securing another three years of employment in the post after the then Chair, retired Justice James Patterson voted in the favour of the other candidate, Roxanne Myers, even though Persaud was scored higher during the evaluation process.
Persaud is the holder of a Master of Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University in London, a Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership (Electoral Processes) from Chartered Management Institute in London, and a Diploma in Public Relations from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Harrow, meanwhile, has over 20 years of experience working in the field of administration and governance. Harrow spent over 18 of those years with the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ). He started as an Office Manager in 1997 and served there until January 2001. In 2002, he returned to the EOJ as the Regional Manager and served up until May 2017.
Harrow is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Organisational Leadership at the One Way International Theological Seminary. He has a certificate in Competitive Strategy from Loyola Marymount University, USA; Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Edinburg Napier University, UK; Postgraduate Diploma in Public Sector Senior Management Development Programme from Management Institute for National Development, Jamaica; Executive Master of Business Administration, University of the Commonwealth Caribbean; Certificate in Project Management from Boston University, USA; Professional Master’s Degree in Operations Management, City and Guild of London Institute; Diploma in Management Studies, Jamaican Institute of Management; and Certificate in Marketing, University of the West Indies.
“GECOM has again defied good judgment and good governance in its decision-making process and has reneged on the opportunity to embrace a transparent process that could be embraced by fair-minded persons and a large portion of the Guyanese society,” Alexander said while alluding to the disparity in both academic and professional experience of both men.
Pre-determined
During yesterday’s meeting, the Commissioners fought tooth and nail to paint their preferred candidate as the man for the job. Because of the polarisation on the Commission, three batting for the government and three for the Opposition, the public expected the deciding vote to come down to the Chair.
Alexander and his colleagues are now accusing the Chair of a pre-determined decision even before she could have listened to their arguments.
“The Chairperson, who presided over the meeting in which Commissioners made their pleadings, read a pre-determined ruling. In other words, even as the pleadings were being presented, the Chairperson already had already scripted her decision. That only made the process more of a travesty, since the pleadings would not have been taken into consideration in the determination of her decision,” he charged.
He added that during the announcement of her decision, Singh made no reference to the disparity in qualifications between the two candidates. He argued that Persaud was unable to accumulate the required period of management and electoral experience, which was one of the essential criteria for the job
The traditional process of hiring senior GECOM staffers involves the Commissioners interviewing the candidates using a list of predetermined criteria. In this case, Persaud and Harrow were evaluated in five areas – certification, work experience, communication, leadership potential and interpersonal relation.
Harrow, according to the Opposition-nominated Commissioners – scored far higher than Persaud in every area because he was brought up in a system that allowed him to have hands-on experience in electoral management as opposed to Persaud who has a theoretical understanding of the processes but never had to implement that.
On that contention, Alexander and the other opposition-nominated commissioners are distancing themselves from the selection.
“We distance ourselves from this is the two reasons – for procedural reasons, which we’ve argued ad nauseam in the public. Our position has been that given the state of GECOM, given the continuous accusations that GECOM is populated by partisan Commissioners and therefore one can anticipate the decisions… the procedures are really archaic, do not provide objective decision making and are flawed. That apart, when one looks at the substantive information – the comparison of qualifications, a comparison of experience, etc – again, we find that the judgment that has been made is flawed, and we would wish to distance ourselves from such a flawed process,” Alexander said.
Alexander informed that a legal challenge is under advisement but was quick to point out that there are very little to no mechanisms in Guyana’s laws to challenge such a decision made by the Commission.
Closer to progress
Government-nominated Commissioners Sase Gunraj, Bibi Shadick and Manoj Narayan were unfazed by the accusations from their fellow commissioners as they maintained that Persaud is experienced and qualified for the position.
“It has been collectively decided that both candidates were academically qualified. That is a collective decision the Commission made for the position. In terms of the expertise, while there were some differing views, it remains my humble opinion that the work that Vishnu Persaud has done with the Commission previously and which was proven, renders him duly experienced for that position,” Gunraj told this publication during a brief telephone interview.
He said that the work of the Secretariat was stymied after the termination of the contracts of Lowenfield and Myers.
Gunraj said that while the Commission still has six vacancies – DCEO, Assistant CEO, Legal Officer, Chief Accountant, Civic and Voter Education Manager and Logistics Manager – to fill, he is hoping that the appointment of the CEO can start to streamline the stalled work.
“It is my hope that the steps that we have taken today will take us closer to a position whereby the work of the commission can now progress. The CEO as the head of the Secretariat is the most important and this appointment can start a streamline of the commencement of the work of the Commission so as to render it prepared to execute the several constitutional and statutory functions that it has been unable to execute as a consequence of the vacancy,” Gunraj added.
The absence of the CEO, who is also the Commissioner of Registration, has stalled the issuance of new and replacement identification cards along with the preparation for Local Government Elections that were constitutionally due no later than this month.
The GECOM Chair recently wrote to the Attorney General saying that the Commission would be unable to host those elections and promising to advise accordingly after the appointment of a CEO. Minister of Local Government Nigel Dharamlall has since issued an order for the postponement of the polls until a date to be specified.
