GECOM Chair shuts down second call for internal review at Commission

This is the second time within a month that the GECOM Chair has shut down a request for an internal probe of the Elections Commission and its management of the 2020 elections.

GECOM Chair shuts down second call for internal review at Commission

The Chairwoman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Retired Justice Claudette Singh has ruled against a motion submitted by Opposition Commissioner Charles Corbin which called for an internal review of the elections machinery in light of serious allegations levelled against the Commission at the conclusion of the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

This is the second time within a month that the GECOM Chair has shut down a request for an internal probe of the Elections Commission and its management of the 2020 elections.

Opposition nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander told News Source today that he is disappointed but not surprised by the decision of the Chair.

He said Justice Singh sought to justify her position by cherry-picking some issues in the motion while ignoring others.

“The Chairperson ruled that the motion clashes with the responsibility of the Court and I am saying we do not agree with that. I want to say also that we believe the Chair has cherry-picked issues in the motion to make her ruling and she did not focus on the overall motion,” Alexander told NewsSource.

Mr. Alexander said the Opposition motion was clear and it is his belief that it has nothing to do with ongoing Court processes. He said is also does not find favour with the Chairperson’s position that an internal probe would be outside of GECOM’s remit.

“This is a matter in the national interest and with or without a motion, GECOM should conduct a review of its internal system if it wants to avoid what happened,” Alexander reasoned.

Alexander did not say whether the Opposition will be revising its motion, but he promised to issue a detailed press release to make the Opposition’s position clear on the matter.

Mr. Corbin’s motion was seeking to have GECOM conduct its own independent review to gain a better understanding of the reasons for the allegations levelled against the Commission in the aftermath of the 2020 elections and for the Commission to consider if there are existing or potential weaknesses in the processes employed by GECOM for the conduct of future elections.

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