Trevor Benn team to boycott Public Service Credit Union “sham” meeting

Last Updated on Sunday, 23 October 2022, 21:19 by Denis Chabrol

The Trevor Benn-led slate of candidates for the management committee of the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union (GPSCCU) on Sunday said it would be boycotting Monday’s special general members meeting and elections over their opponent’s refusal to use a tried and tested system for Online electronic voting.

The meeting is scheduled for 8 AM at the New Central High School, Princes Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, but Attorney-at-Law Christopher Thompson said the notice for the meeting was published in one rather than five newspapers, there was limited voter education, no voting period was stated, no nomination day was advertised, other than Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica)  and there has been no information about polling stations in the other nine administrative regions. “There is a total disobeying of the court order,” he said.

“What we have here is a total flouting, a total disregard for the court order…We would not be any party to this process as long as the court order is not obeyed we would not be part of those elections and we are asking members also not to be part of this sham that is being presented as a meeting or election,” he said. He warned that the current management committee risked being cited for contempt of court and waste of the credit union’s money in legal fees.

Mr Benn reiterated the boycott call. “We are asking our members not to show up for the meeting tomorrow (Monday).” He said there have been suggestions of possible violence at the venue. Other concerns are an absence of agenda and a mere two hours for registration.

Mr Benn, who was toppled from the post of GPSCCU Chairman earlier this year, said if the elections go ahead the Karen Van Sluytman-backed faction of the incumbent management committee would be breaching the High Court Order. Efforts to contact her and several other serving members of the current management committee were unsuccessful.

Mr Thompson and his colleagues said they would not be party to such a violation and would prefer to await the outcome of a High Court hearing of an application for the variation of its order scheduled for November 7.

Mr Benn rejected suggestions that his grouping was now making noises because it knows it would be thrashed at the GPSCCU elections. “Far from the truth! Far from the truth! We are very confident of a victory… We have to satisfy ourself and our members that the systems are in place would allow for free, fair and transparent elections especially when it comes to E-voting,” he said.

He alleged that his rivals might be seeking to pad the number of eligible persons with the names of deceased and dormant members but acknowledged that he did not have any evidence.

In the past, the actual voter turnout at GPSCCU elections had been an estimated 375 out of an estimated 20,000 members but in 2021 the turnout was more than 2,000 because, according to Mr Benn, a larger mandate was sought. “We were hoping that this time around it would be a lot more than we had one the first occasion when we used it,” he said.

On the last occasion, Mr Thompson said a “credible and experienced” Trinidad-based company had been used to livestream and facilitate Online voting. But, Mr Thompson said his opponents want the High Court to vary its decision to allow for more time because of the short notice that was given to him. Failing that, the High Court is being asked to approve the use of a local service provider.

But Team Benn is objecting on the grounds that it does not know the local provider, Ultimate Dimension,  no opportunity to vet it and has not been given any references. “The company is unknown to them and, therefore, they are much more comfortable with a tried and tested entity that would have successfully executed that they are being asked to do this year, last year,” he said.