The former Legal Counsel for the Guyana Elections Commission, Kurt DaSilva, is threatening legal action against the Chairman and the Chief Election Officer of the Commission, if they do not withdraw and correct, what he described as the “falsehoods” that were dictated against him in two recent press statements from the Commission.

Last week, the GECOM Chairman, retired Justice Claudette Singh, sided with the Government nominated members of the Commission in deciding not to renew the contract for Mr DaSilva as the Commission’s Legal Counsel, citing his filings in the recent voter verification case.

In defending its decision, the Elections Commission said Mr. DaSilva acted contrary to his duty as Counsel for the Commission by introducing new arguments that were contrary to the sworn position of the Chief Election Officer (CEO) in the recent voter verification case.

In a 12-page letter to the GECOM Chair today, Mr. Da Silva said the statement from GECOM was “replete with false and misleading statements” about his professional conduct and legal submissions.

He said he was “surprised” and “disheartened” to see such “inaccuracies” published with the approval of the Commission, when the Commission was fully apprised of his submissions in the case and never objected to the submissions before they were made in Court.

“You, more than anyone, are aware of the actual sequence of events and the lack of veracity in the allegations made. In fact, upon reading the press release, I reached out to you immediately to inquire if it originated from your office and to urge that it be retracted. I implored that it be replaced with a statement acknowledging the falsity of its contents. You even said to me that you would tell them take it down. Unfortunately, no corrective action has been taken,” Da Silva told the Chairman.

The Attorney said all of his pleadings and written submissions in the Court matter were submitted to the Chairman, the Chief Election Officer and the Commissioners long before they were presented in the case and before his job appraisal was concluded.

He said the content of his legal submissions could not have been “a surprise” to GECOM, when for several months, he had apprised both the Chairman and the Commission about the issues regarding the electoral laws, even prior to the case being filed.

“I alerted you to the constitutional requirement that voters in Regional Democratic Council (RDC) elections must reside in their respective regions. I further observed that, due to the 2022 amendments to the National Registration Act, this residency requirement would necessitate procedural changes – specifically, the extraction of separate voters’ lists for General and Regional Elections (with each list subjected to claims and objections to ensure the appropriate residency criteria), and the use of separate ballot papers for the two elections. You did not disagree with these conclusions when we discussed them,” Da Silva told the Chairman.

He said on November 25, 2024 in a memo titled “Residency Requirement for General and Regional Elections”, he raised the issue again to both the Chairman and the CEO, and it was later circulated among the Commissioners.

“At no time did you or any Commissioner express disagreement with the memo’s contents; to the contrary, my understanding from our conversations was that you found my legal analysis sound,” Da Silva wrote.

It was explained that after the case was filed by Carol Smith Joseph – the Chief Scrutineer for the People’s National Congress Reform – the application was discussed in detail, and it was he, who said that it should be “strenuously opposed and dismissed.”

However, when Smith-Joseph amended her application to argue that verification of residence is also required for Regional Elections, Da Silva said he informed the Chairman of the update and pointed her once again to the Constitution.

“I did caution, however, that if the Chief Justice were to consider the residency issue, and if she agreed with my position, GECOM would have to implement the procedural adjustments we had discussed. Your response was that we would ‘wait and see’ what the Chief Justice decides. This reaction indicated no disapproval of my position, only a prudent desire to await the court’s ruling,” Da Silva recalled.

He said the Affidavit in Defence sworn by the CEO on January 29, explicitly acknowledged that “the Constitution does require members of an RDC to be elected by persons residing in the region.”

DaSilva said to suggest that his submissions carried extreme potential for the emergence of harmful effects, including the postponement of elections beyond the Constitutional deadline, is “baseless” and appears to be calculated to portray his submissions as “reckless”, when in fact they were grounded in law, and were intended to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process.

“In summary, the press release presents a narrative of my conduct that is grossly at odds with reality. It falsely paints me as having acted negligently, unprofessionally, and contrary to GECOM’s interests, when the truth is that I devoted myself to upholding the law and protecting the Commission’s integrity,” Da Silva said.

Noting that the “unfounded statements” have already begun to tarnish his reputation, Mr. Da Silva, in his letter to the Chairman, demanded an apology for the “false and misleading allegations” in the release to be rescinded. He has given the GECOM Chairman an April 22 ultimatum, warning that failure to heed to his demands would result in legal actions.

In a separate letter to the Chief Election officer (CEO), Vishnu Persaud, Mr. DaSilva addressed another press statement which was issued on March 20, and which according to him, was also laced with inaccuracies which regards to his submission in the very case.

He is also demanding a retraction of the statement, and an apology from the CEO.

DaSilva served GECOM as its Legal Counsel for three years and was praised for his work at the Commission, even receiving a job appraisal score of 98%. He previously worked at the Caribbean Court of Justice.

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