Former Legal Counsel for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Kurt Da Silva has moved to the High Court to order the Elections Commission and the Chief Election Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud to retract two press statements issued that referenced him with falsehoods, which he believes are libelous.

He is also asking for an apology.

In the Court document seen by News Source, Mr. Da Silva said one of the releases was issued by GECOM on April 9, 2025 under the title “Non-Renewal of the Employment Contract of GECOM’s Legal Officer” while the other was published on March 20, 2025 by the Chief Election Officer.

He wants an order for formal and official retractions by both GECOM and the CEO of the releases published in the same manner they were first published, and also, for apologies to be issued by both GECOM and the CEO.

Da Silva, in his submissions said he is an Attorney with more than seven years of experience, and prior to his appointment as the Legal Counsel for the Elections Commission, he served as a Judicial Counsel for the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Da Silva said he had received “glowing” recommendations from a number of judges, including the President of the CCJ.

He said both statements issued by GECOM contained defamatory information which suggested that his action in a case that was before the High Court was contrary to the instructions of the Commission and the CEO.

GECOM, in one of the statements indicated that Da Silva’s pronouncements in the case could have led to “confusion and misrepresentation regarding preparations for the upcoming elections.”

It was said too that the Legal Officer’s pronouncement carry sever implications for the upcoming elections and created uncertainty among stakeholders including voters, political parties and international observers.

The statement was published on GECOM’s Facebook page which has approximately 55,000 followers. Da Silva said within hours the very statement was published on the Attorney General’s Facebook page.

He said the statement implied that he acted outside of the authority given to him, and disobeyed the orders of GECOM and the CEO. Further, he said the statements gave the impression that he acted outside of the scope of the legal proceedings, and that the submissions had the potential to cause confusion and misrepresentation.

He said as result, he has been severely defamed and has suffered considerable public criticism and ridicule.

“The Press Statement caused injury to the stellar professional reputation that the claimant has cultivated in his career at the High Court, at the CCJ and as Legal Officer of the First Defendant, as it portrays him as an Attorney-at-Law who is dishonest, deceitful, reckless, irresponsible and who cannot be trusted by his clients.  The Press Statement caused injury to the personal reputation of the Claimant, as it portrays him as dishonest, deceitful and generally lacking integrity,” a section of the court document read.

Da Silva argued that his submissions in Court were based entirely on and were consistent with an affidavit sworn by the CEO.

Da Silva noted that more than two weeks before the issuance of the press release, he circulated his written submissions to the Chairman of GECOM, Claudette Singh and all Commissioners. According to him, none of them raised any objection or concern.

“In fact the Chairman expressly agreed with the substance of the Claimant’s submissions on multiple occasions before and after the submissions were made,” the document read.

He said as such, the allegations contained in the press statements are all false.

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