Jagdeo: GECOM Chair said working for elections before end of year
Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that GECOM Chair Claudette Singh had stated during a meeting on Tuesday that the Commission was working towards general elections before the end of the year.
There had been similar statements by PPP members on Tuesday following the meeting but yesterday was the first time that Jagdeo officially confirmed it and if it was followed through with it would mean that the GECOM Chair differed from the projection by the elections secretariat of March next year as the earliest date for the controversial general elections.
Jagdeo’s declaration came at a press conference yesterday in response to a statement from GECOM on Wednesday which had defended the March 2020 schedule.
The Opposition Leader said that the statement by GECOM in response to a Stabroek News article came as a surprise given that during the meeting with GECOM Commissioners and other officers on Wednesday, Singh, in summing up, said “we are working toward elections before the end of the year.”
After the Chairwoman said these words, Jagdeo continued, no objections were offered by any of the Commissioners or other officers present, including the Chief Election Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, the Deputy Chief Election Officer, and GECOM’s legal officer.
He said that it was for this reason that he declined to comment to the media on the subjects discussed in the meetings, and the positions taken, instead allowing GECOM the opportunity to issue a report.
“To my surprise, I saw a press release come out of GECOM even before the meeting had ended. In the press release, they were referring to the March 2020 deadline.”
Jagdeo also lamented the fact the government-nominated GECOM commissioner, Vincent Alexander, made statements in the media indicating that there was no room for elections this year, even though he was present during the meeting, and made no objections to the possibility of elections this year.
Jagdeo said that these occurrences are a clear indication that there is an interest in, and attempts to delay the timelines that need to be met for general and regional elections to take place.
He also noted that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change coalition has asked to meet with GECOM today, lamenting that this expression of interest by the coalition to meet with GECOM at such a late stage will only serve to delay what he says are already overdue elections.