The Office of the Opposition Leader is condemning as ‘misleading and deliberate,’ information published by the state-owned Guyana Chronicle purporting that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner for the PPP/C Bibi Shadick and two other persons were nominees for the post of GECOM Chairperson.
According to the Opposition Leader Dr Bharat Jagdeo, at no point were the names Justice Claudette Singh, Bibi Shaddick and Timothy Jonas put to President David Granger.
“This is a blatant untruth that has been peddled” said Jagdeo’s office in a statement, while noting that the political Opposition maintains its objection to the unilateral and “constitutional” appointment of Justice James Patterson as the GECOM Chairperson.
See their full statement below:
The Office of the Opposition Leader condemns the deliberate attempt by the state-owned Guyana Chronicle to mislead the Guyanese people on the matter of nominees named by Opposition Leader, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, for the post of Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission.
The Guyana Chronicle’s lead story, headlined ‘Justice James Patterson is new GECOM chair’, stated that: “The second list included Retired Justices Claudette Singh and B.S. Roy, PPP Member of Parliament and GECOM Commissioner Bibi Shadick, Attorneys Timothy Jonas and Kashir Khan and environmentalist Annette Arjoon-Martins.”This is a blatant untruth that has been peddled. At no point were the names of Justice Claudette Singh, Bibi Shaddick, Timothy Jonas put to the President by the Opposition Leader.
In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Opposition Leader submitted nominees for the post of GECOM Chairperson. This was done three times, before President David Granger moved to unilaterally and unconstitutionally appoint retired Justice James Patterson to the post.
The nominees named on December 21, 2016 included:
- Governance and Conflict Resolution Specialist, Lawrence Lachmansingh
- Attorney-at-Law and Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram
- Retired Major General, Norman Mc Lean
- Business Executive, Ramesh Dookhoo
- Businesswoman and Indian Rights activist, Rhyaan Shah
- History Professor James Rose
The nominees named on May 2, 2017 included:
- Retired Justice of Appeal BS Roy
- Retired Justice William Ramlall
- Former Magistrate OneidgeWalrond-Allicock
- Attorney Kashir Khan
- Attorney Nadia Sagar
- Captain Gerald Gouveia
The nominees named on August 25, 2017 included:
- Major General Joseph Singh
- Mr.Teni Housty
- Mr.SanjeevDatadin
- Mrs. Annette Arjune-Martins
- Mr.Onesi La Fleur
- Mr.Krishnadatt Persaud
The political Opposition maintains its objection to the unilateral appointment of Justice Patterson as the GECOM Chairperson.
