Nandlall doesn’t think GECOM will be ready for local gov’t polls next year

and GECOM has to make a statement if it is ready or not.”

Pronounce

“We will expect the Elections Commission to pronounce on this matter at the earliest possible opportunity …the elections commission has to carry out their function. The fact that the CEO is before the court does not impair his ability to perform any function which he has to perform. A lot of these charges we know are bogus, some have been withdrawn. I am not of the view that he or any of the members before the court is really a matter which will prevent them from doing what they have to do,” he said.

Further, he added, “This is the out of the playbook of the PPP. Taking these people before the courts on trumped up charges so that they will not be in a position so they will not be able to do what they have to do. But we will hold them to the responsibility under the law to conduct these elections,” he added.

Harmon said that one of the first steps GECOM would have to take is “ensuring we have a clean list of electors for the LGE”, even as he stressed that “It is for GECOM to say we are in a state of readiness to adequately carry out our functions with regards to LGE.”

For the Attorney General, the CEO’s actions was called into question by not just his party but others contesting and observers.

“One hundred countries in the world condemned him. Every major organization, both in Guyana, in the Caribbean; you had CARICOM, the diplomatic community the OAS, the Commonwealth, the United Nations, The European Union and several governments around the world criticized the performance. The judiciary of Guyana, including our highest court, the CCJ condemned his conduct. The PPP/C represents the largest block of Guyanese electors and the PPP/C does not stand alone.

We have nine other political parties that have taken a similar position against the CEO,” Nandlall declared.

He added “So no election under his stewardship will be regarded as credible by a majority of the electors. The matter is compounded by an elections petition in which I have no doubt that evidence would be led to establish further wrong-doing. When one takes all of this into account I can’t imagine the atmosphere being conducive to the holding of local government elections and I think that may be the consensual political view.”

He stressed that his posture was in no way one that should suggest that the PPP/C wants to postpone or is shunning its responsibilities to GECOM.

“Elections are either held or the law is amended to postpone the elections. I hope what I say is not interpreted as a basis to postpose the elections but going ahead with an election with the realities can only be a recipe for disaster,” he said.