GECOM still to begin interviewing candidates for DCEO job

The process of appointing a new Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) appears to be at a standstill once again.

The members of the Commission met on Tuesday, but no date was set for the conduct of interviews with the shortlisted applicants.

It is now more than 17 months since the Elections Commission, which is chaired by Justice (Ret’d), Claudette Singh, advertised the post. Although the applicants have long been shortlisted, there has been no appointment.

Opposition nominated GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander said the situation is worrying, especially with local elections approaching.

He said “the sloth is still in the arena. Now that we have arrived at the listing of the persons to be interviewed, we still haven’t gotten a date because some commissioners are unavailable. So the sloth is still in the arena, the ball is still being kicked down the road”.

He warned that a failure to appoint a DCEO ahead of the June 12 Local Government Elections, could affect the successful execution of those elections.

“The DCEO has specific functions, and if there is no DCEO in place, it means that somebody else has to carry out those functions and, in this instance, it is resulting in what may be seen as an overload on the CEO…and with that overload you are not getting efficiency and effectiveness,” Mr Alexander said.

The Elections Commissioner said evidence of the overload was documented in a letter to the Chairman of the Elections Commission by the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud, when he sought to justify the need for a Director of Operations.

In that letter, the Chief Elections Officer explained that a senior officer was needed to assist with the day-to-day implementation and evaluation of the statutory and administrative tasks outlined in the workplan for the conduct of Local Government Elections (LGEs).

In the absence of a DCEO, the Commission’s IT Manager Aneal Giddings was seconded to the post of Director of Operations. However, that appointment was rescinded in February 2023 after it was deemed to be unlawful.

Commissioner Alexander said with the CEO having to carry the majority of the workload, the impact is undoubtedly being felt.

“As we continue along the road of preparation, we find that there are things which have not been done, there are things which have to be corrected, [and that] suggests that the pressure is being brought to bear on the efficacy of his operations,” Mr Alexander said.

Initially, Melanie Marshall, Neil Bacchus, Mohamed Arjoon and Deodat Persaud were shortlisted for the position by the Commission, however, Aneal Giddings was added to the short list after the post was readvertised.

The last DCEO was Ms Roxanne Myers. Her service was terminated in August 2021.