Court blocks GECOM from ruling on Boodoo’s contract

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:01 by GxMedia

The High Court has granted an injunction barring the GECOM Commissioners from pronouncing on whether the contract of former Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodoo should be renewed.

Information reaching Demerara Waves Online News state that the Commission was served with the writ around 12.55 PM Tuesday, five minutes before a meeting to address the issue was scheduled to begin.

DemWaves was told that among Boodo’s grounds was that he was not appraised before a decision was taken not to give him the job again.

The Commissioners were to settle the matter a week ago but did not have a quorum present at the meeting. The opposition-nominated Commissioners are against renewing Boodoo’s contract which ended in April.

The AFC and the APNU have demanded that Boodoo leave office because he had allegedly declared an incorrect result in the 2006 election in favour of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds occupying a geographical constituency seat.

And in the 2011 election, Boodoo was on the verge of delivering an inaccurate result that would have given the PPP/C a one-seat majority in the 65-seat National Assembly. However, Commissioner Vincent Alexander quickly recognised that Boodoo was using the wrong formula and requested that the calculation be redone. The government has urged the parties not to interfere in the operations of GECOM.

DemWaves learnt that Commission Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally had received legal advice to the effect that they had no obligation to rehire Boodoo who expressed an interest in returning some two weeks after his contract expired on April 30.

The Chairman had sought legal advice in light of a letter from Boodoo’s lawyer, Mursalene Bacchus in which he threatened to take legal action if his client’s application was not favourably considered on grounds of legitimate expectation, fairness and natural justice.

DemWaves understands that the matter will be heard on July 10.