Responding to the notion that the current makeup of the seven-member Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) needs to be reexamined to ensure more neutrality at the decision-making level of the organisation, Government-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj has opined that regardless of who sits in those positions, unless they possess integrity and professionalism, the work of the entity will continue to be challenged.
He shared this position on Monday during the social media programme “Globespan” where he was prompted to weigh in on calls for there to be a more ‘independent’ Commission.
The Commission currently comprises seven persons, three of whom are nominated by the Government and three by the Opposition, while the seventh person is the Chairman who is elected following consultations between the President and the Leader of the Opposition.
This formula was recommended by the Carter Center and was later included in the Guyana Constitution during the 1990s. Several years thereafter and more so, in light of the events of the 2020 General and Regional Elections, there have been calls for this methodology of appointing Commissioners to be changed.
In fact, because of the current composition, there is almost always gridlock between the Government and Opposition sides, with the Chair having to intervene to break any stalemate.
But according to Commissioner Gunraj, regardless of whomever sits on the Electoral Commission, unless they possess integrity and professionalism, the same challenges being experienced now, will persist.
“I respectfully submit that GECOM will function and function excellently, if persons execute their functions with professionalism and with integrity as it was intended,” he stated.
To emphasise his point, Gunraj highlighted the termination of services of Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, his Deputy Roxanne Myers, and Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo over their alleged involvement in the attempts to rig the March 2020 elections.
These individuals, Gunraj reminded, had a history of public service.
“We saw persons who held themselves out, who have had a history of public service; Clairmont Mingo has worked at GECOM for years, Clairmont Mingo has trained hundreds, if not, thousands of officers for years at GECOM…Keith Lowenfield, retired army officer, has served at GECOM for years, participated and ran several elections. But what you have had, all of that being thrown out of the window,” Gunraj reasoned.
“How do you legislate against that, how do you put a framework in place to deal with people who are willing and have demonstrably done so, willing to throw their integrity and professionalism on the line,” he further contended.
Against this backdrop, the GECOM Commissioner reiterated that “as long as the Commission functions and persons carry their functions in professional manner, heralded by integrity, we will not have a recurrence of this [2020 elections].”
In a bid to strengthen the country’s electoral laws in light of the 2020 elections fiasco, proposed changes to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA) were released to the public in November 2021 for feedback.
Under these proposed amendments, the CEO at GECOM could face as much as life imprisonment for committing fraud while others can similarly face hefty fines and jailtime for any related offences.
