– says Commission understands the ‘sense of urgency’

CHAIRMAN of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, anticipates that there will be a “greater level of compromise” from commission members in their decision-making following the decision of the Chief Justice on the 2020 elections matter.

In a letter on Wednesday, she stated that the commission is cognisant of the “sense of urgency” in which it must complete its work as it is now nine days after E-Day and overall results have not yet been declared.

“…as such, it is anticipated that there will be a greater level of compromise by the six commissioners in agreeing on the next steps, following the decision of the Chief Justice,” Justice Singh stated.

After the December 2018 no-confidence motion against the government and long before the March 2, 2020 elections, the six members of the commission have seldom been able to see ‘eye to eye’ on numerous matters reaching their attention.

Three of the commissioners are nominated by the government and another three by the opposition. The line has often been drawn squarely between the six leaving matters to be decided upon by the Chair.

Nonetheless, Justice Singh said that GECOM is aware that it must follow the laws of the country and will not make a final declaration on the overall elections results until the court decides on the next steps forward.

“It is important for all relevant parties and members of the public to note that while GECOM is a Constitutional agency, it is still subjected to the Laws of Guyana; hence the mandatory injunction granted against the commission and Chief Elections Officer on Thursday, March 5, 2020, has affected the finalisation of the commission’s work at this point,” she stated.

The GECOM Chair also thanked the 11 political parties for their participation in the 2020 General and Regional Elections and for their “patience and level of sobriety shown, particularly over the past week” during the completion of the process.

Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, will rule today on whether the Region Four Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo, followed the correct procedure when he declared the votes for his district.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_03_11_2020