GECOM Legal Officer says she resigned ov
Attorney-at-Law Excellence Dazzell has responded to articles published over the last two days which she said inaccurately cite breach of contract as the reason she resigned from her post as Legal Officer/Secretary of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Slamming these claims made by People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)nominated Commissioners Sase Gunraj and Bibi Shadick, Dazzell said that her resignation which she tendered since back in February was over her loss of trust and confidence in the Commission to “prevent abuse and intimidation and promote equality.”
Dazzell in a press release issued yesterday, said that her decision to resign had absolutely nothing to do with any breach of her employment contract as advanced by Gunraj in the Chronicle and Shadick to Newsroom. She noted a similar article published by the Guyana Times as well.
Demanding an apology from the news entities and seeking to provide clarity on the issue, Dazzell said that she resigned from her post, having lost trust and confidence in the Commission which she said has failed in its duty to take reasonable care to prevent abuse and intimidation and promote equality where she is concerned.
According to an article published by the Chronicle yesterday, Gunraj related on Wednesday that Dazzell was one of two persons who resigned “after being flagged for being in breach of their employment contracts.”
Gunraj is reported in the article as saying that Dazzell resigned after being faced with allegations that she had been involved in private practice while serving as the Commission’s Legal Office, which her employment contract prohibits.
Gunraj was quoted as saying, “Bibi Shadick provided a publication from the Official Gazette to show that she [Dazzell] was engaged in a practice outside of GECOM,”
According to the article, Gunraj then went on to explain that following that revelation, Dazzell, was issued a letter from Chairperson of the Commission, retired Justice Claudette Singh asking her to show cause why she should not be disciplined.
“She claimed in her letter, that she received permission from the then [GECOM] Chairman [Justice (ret’d) James Patterson], but she was unable to provide any documentation to show that she did, in fact, receive permission to engage in a full-fledged legal practice,” the article quotes Gunraj as saying; adding that it was shortly after that that Dazzell resigned.
In correspondence back in January and February of this year between Dazzell and Justice Singh concerning her private practice and which was seen by this newspaper, Dazzell said that she did have need to appear in court for a private matter she did which had not been completed prior to her being employed by the Commission.
She said that contrary to Gunraj’s assertions, she had sought and was granted written permission by then-Commissioner Patterson. A copy of the written permission which Dazzell said she was granted
by Patterson was seen by this newspaper for that private matter.
Other legal work
Dazzell who does not deny doing “other legal work” which she said the Commission in practice has always allowed, then went on to detail in her letter to Justice Singh that thereafter it was on the request of former Chairman Patterson that she would again appear in matters which did not relate to the work of the Commission.
Dazzell said that though she had also requested from Patterson written permission to so do, he said it was not necessary.
In Justice Singh’s letter of January 19th, 2021 to Dazzell asking her to show cause, she [Singh] referenced Shadick’s enquiry at a December 22nd, 2020 meeting of the Commission of her [Dazzell’s] involvement in court matters not related to GECOM.
In a response to Justice Singh’s letter the following day, Dazzell requested specifics of Shadick’s complaint. Then, in correspondence dated February 28th, 2021 in which she also tendered her resignation Dazzell explained why she should not be disciplined for doing work unrelated to GECOM.
She proffered as her reason against such action, what she described as “the conduct of the Commission” which she said could be supported by numerous instances, but noted in her letter only two which she said best exemplified the conduct to which she referred— Condonation—and Breach of line of Authority.
Dazzell said that when she was interviewed for the job on May 12th 2018, she had been a practicing attorney for two years, eight months prior—the larger portion of which she served in private practice.
She then goes on to detail in her letter to Chairman Singh, that about a month after commencing her employment with the Commission, she was to appear in court for ruling in a private matter and requested permission from then Chairman