The Alliance for Change has declared that it has lost full confidence in leadership of the Guyana Elections Commission.

In a statement, the party said the recent disclosures by the Elections Commission that it erred in the interpretation of the Representation of the Peoples Act (ROPA), and allowed a member of the National Assembly to occupy a seat which they were not legally entitled to occupy has led to its loss of confidence in GECOM.

The Legal Officer at the Elections Commission, Kurt DaSilva, recently told reporters that based on the Representation of the People Act, in the case of joinder parties, it is only the party that gained the highest number of votes on the joinder list, that is allowed to occupy a seat in the Assembly.

The Liberty and Justice Party, which gained the most votes among the three joinder parties at the last elections, should therefore be the party to occupy the seat in the Assembly won by the joinder list.

The seat is currently occupied by the Leader of The New Movement, Dr. Asha Kissoon, who has refused to step down from the position. Based on the Representation of the People’s Act, Kissoon should not have been allowed to take up the seat in the first place.

The Alliance for Change said an error of this magnitude and its attendant consequences including permitting a person to vote on legislation for the past year when the person was not entitled to occupy a seat in the National Assembly and participate in its deliberations, has caused irreparable damage to the ability of GECOM, under its present leadership, to continue to manage the affairs of this organisation.

The Chairperson of GECOM, Claudette Singh, has been silent on the issue even after receiving the advice of the Commission’s Legal Officer.

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