The indefinite postponement of local government elections clears the way for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to return to the hiring process for the appointment of a Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), opposition nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander said.
His comments come on the heels of the secondment of IT Manager Aneal Giddings to Operations Coordinator.
Speaking recently to Stabroek News, Alexander said the hiring process for the DCEO can be completed within a month’s time frame as only the necessary interviews are left to be completed.
However, he believes that the process is being dragged out to pave the way for the hiring of Giddings in that position. Giddings is an applicant, but Alexander said he does not possess the years of experience specified in the vacancy. He opined that dragging out the process will allow Giddings the opportunity to be considered.
Alexander stressed that with applicants shortlisted for over six months, the process should have been completed already. He argued that had the commission filled the vacancy there would have been no need for the creation of a temporary post.
Alexander said last week that while the position of Operations Coordinator was being viewed as a junior post, judging from its terms of reference, it fulfils the duties of the Deputy Chief Elections Officer. However, the post is yet to be filled.
Alexander argued that the agency’s constitution empowers the Chief Elections Officer to hire junior staff while senior staff appointments are filled through appointments by the commission. He said the vacancy was filled internally without any input from the commission.
The hiring process was stalled following the announcement of March 12 as the date for local government elections. However, the elections have now been postponed for the elections body to rectify breaches in the demarcation of boundaries and appropriate publication of the register of voters.
GECOM Chair Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh said in a press statement that all existing vacancies had been placed on the statutory meetings’ agenda but continuously deferred due to the need for the commission to focus its attention on more pressing matters associated with preparations for the conduct of local government elections.
In the same press release, she justified the decision to approve Giddings’s secondment.
On November 9, 2022, Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud wrote a memo to Singh, requesting approval for the secondment of Giddings to the Operations Department of the Commission’s Secretariat to assist with the day-to-day implementation and evaluation of the statutory and administrative tasks set out in the work plan for the conduct of Local Government Elections (LGEs).
This was necessary, he said, unlike the General and Regional Elections, which take place in a disaggregated manner in ten different electoral districts, the LGEs are conducted in 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) comprising ten municipalities and seventy Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).
He pointed out that considering, i) the multiplicity of sequential and simultaneous tasks required to be implemented at operations level for the LGEs, and ii) the position of Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) being vacant, it was of vital importance to have a senior manager who was au fait with operations management relative to the conduct of elections, assigned the responsibility of assisting him so as to ensure that all of the required tasks are efficiently and effectively implemented in accordance with the timelines set out in the work plan for the LGEs.
Based on this line of reasoning, the chairman approved the request with the understanding that Giddings would be referred to as ‘Operations Coordinator’ within the Operations Department of the Commission’s Secretariat since he would be responsible for carrying out responsibilities that would normally fall within the list of duties of DCEO.
The release went on to note that the chair gave her approval for the secondment of Giddings with the full knowledge that she, i) was not creating any new position, ii) was not making an appointment, and iii) was aware that there existed, the precedent of staff been seconded, and in one case even appointed, without the knowledge and approval of the commission. Further, the chair’s approval of the requested secondment was based on the understanding that this would be a temporary arrangement until a suitable candidate was appointed to the position of DCEO.
