PPP to appeal ruling on GECOM Chairman
Warning that the ruling by Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George SC to uphold the appointment of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Justice (retd) James Patterson could see more unilateral installments by the head of state, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Friday said it would appeal the decision.
The judge’s ruling was made on an application by PPP Executive Secretary Zulfikar Mustapha, who challenged the constitutionality of the appointment, which was made by President David Granger last October.
In her ruling on Friday, Justice George, although finding that the President should have given reasons for his rejection of the nominees submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, dismissed the challenge as wholly misconceived. “I hold that there is nothing before this Court to permit a finding that the President acted unlawfully or irrationally in resorting to the proviso to Article 161(2), or to rebut the presumption that Justice Patterson is qualified to be appointed to the post of Chairman of GECOM,” she ruled.
In a brief reaction to the ruling on Friday, Justice Patterson told this newspaper that he was happy though not surprised by it.
He also noted that in theory it would allow him to function without any hindrances. “The ruling of the High Court, it’s final. So, as far as I am concerned, that issue is laid to rest. Dead. Dead. Dead. Very dead. Not to be resurrected again so we need to move forward,” he said.
However, in a statement issued after the judgment was delivered, the PPP charged that the decision strikes at the heart of the country’s constitutional and electoral democracy. “It has destroyed that delicate balance, which a Chairman is intended to bring to the Guyana Elections Commission. The framers of the Constitution intended this Chairman to be appointed through a mechanism, which involves an input from both the President and the Leader of the Opposition, to ultimately produce a person who enjoys the confidence of both. This is the reason why this Chairman is endowed with the power of a casting vote to break deadlocks at a bi-partisan Commission,” it said.
“Unfortunately, this ruling, in violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution, seeks to legitimize a unilateral appointment of a GECOM Chairman and has crushed that crucial balance in the makeup
“The ruling of the High Court, it’s final. So, as far as I am concerned, that issue is laid to rest. Dead. Dead. Dead. Very dead. Not to be resurrected again so we need to move forward”