GECOM has lost the confidence of the Guyanese people -says ANUG

Opposition political party, A New and United Guyana (ANUG) believes that it has become clear that the Guyana Elections Commission has lost the confidence of the Guyanese people for poorly administering its functions and flouting its Constitutional mandate.

In a statement on Tuesday, ANUG said GECOM continues to blunder on important legal and Constitutional matters, with the most recent involving the joinder seat in the National Assembly, where the Leader of The New Movement (TNM), Dr Asha Kissoon was allowed to illegally take up a seat in Parliament.

The issue was flagged by GECOM’s Legal Officer, Kurt Da Silva.

Da Silva, at a recent press conference, explained that based on the Representation of the Peoples Act, the Liberty and Justice arty (LJP) was the only party eligible to take up the joinder seat in the National Assembly having gained the most votes among the joinder parties.

In its statement, ANUG said “GECOM, and or their apparatus, by willful negligence, oversight or blatant disregard for established protocol, allowed Dr. Asha Kissoon a representative of a party (TNM) other than the LJP to illegally enter, occupy and now squat interminably in Parliament- enjoying full benefits (perks and financial) compliments of our hard-working tax-payers who are footing the bill,” ANUG said.

It said to make matters worse, Dr Kissoon, though being ineligible, now occupies the post of Deputy Speaker having been nominated and elected with the full and continued support of the Government, making it as guilty as GECOM.

“Not only is the administrative arm of GECOM- seemingly compromised but the entire Commission which has well respected and experienced legal luminaries on both sides seems to be complicit or do not have the intestinal fortitude to “open the Pandora Box” in this “Asha Kissoon” blunder, in addressing this glaring deficit in administration,” ANUG said.

ANUG said it is also with a tinge of sadness and regret that the Chairman of GECOM, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh was either unaware or did not conduct enhanced due diligence on the information presented to her by her subordinates.

It said invariably, however, the buck stops with the GECOM Chairman and as such, the issue will always be associated with her stewardship as Chair of GECOM.

The party pointed out that in the past, GECOM on its own erred egregiously by allowing ineligible members (dual citizens) to sit in and vote in Parliament.

Added to that, ANUG said GECOM allows political parties to get away with not submitting for review, by the Commission, their campaign financing information as mandated by law.

It said instead of correcting these obvious misjudgments and misdemeanors, in the case of Dr Kissoon and the joinder seat, the Commission and administrative arm have done their best to retard, drag on and pussyfoot on a simple matter crystallized by the constitution.

“It is time for all Guyanese to echo ANUG’s call for GECOM to get their act together and perform at the level expected for such a distinguished agency fully upholding their constitutional mandate. Anything less cannot be accepted,” ANUG said.

It said with elections set for next year, the public wants an Election Commission free from perceived political bias, and one that follows the Constitution and operates with full transparency and accountability to the Guyanese people.