Almost two years after his promise to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into the 2020 national elections, President Irfaan Ali this afternoon named the four-member Commission.
In a statement from his office, the President announced that Non-resident Justice of Appeal for the Turks and Caicos islands, Trinidadian retired Judge Stanley John will serve as the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry.
Justice John is the current Chairman of the Public Service Appeal Board in Trinidad and Tobago and is a former member of the Ethics Committee of Cricket West Indies.
The President also named former Justice Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Court and former Attorney General of Belize Godfrey Smith as a member of the Commission of Inquiry. Mr. Smith has held several Government Ministerial positions in Belize over the years.
The former Chief Elections Commissioner for India, Dr. S. Y. Quraishi has also been named as a member of the Elections Commission of Inquiry.
He served as the Chief Elections Commissioner in India for a number of years and is credited as the founder of the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management.
Rounding off the four-member Commission is former Acting Chancellor of Guyana, retired Chief Justice Carl Singh.
Justice Singh retired as Acting Chancellor in 2017 after serving in the position for 12 years. He was never confirmed as Chancellor. He also served as a Professor of Law and Head of the Department of Law at the University of Guyana from 2017 to 2019.
The Office of the President did not release the terms of reference of the Commission of Inquiry but indicated that a two-member team has also been appointed to assist the Commission with its work.
According to the statement, in the coming weeks, the intended Commissioners and resource personnel will review the reports and documentation, set out modalities, and commence work.
The Commission will be expected to examine the work of the Guyana Elections Commission during the 2020 elections and the claims by the main political parties of alleged fraud and alleged rigging.
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