GECOM Secretariat refuses to provide info, chairman absent from press briefing

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 August 2025, 15:01 by Writer

Top officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Monday bluntly refused to say who is providing legal services to that electoral management body, following the non-renewal of Attorney-at-Law Kurt Da Silva’s legal officer contract in April.

Demerara Waves Online News was reliably informed that Dominican lawyer, Anthony Astaphan’s services have been retained by the Commission, even as the search continues for suitably qualified applicants. Mr Astaphan had been reportedly hired initially without the full knowledge of all seven commissioners.

Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud said only recently the commission “approved the retention of an external lawyer to provide legal services to the commission.” Pressed on the identity of the person, he said, “I can’t speak on behalf of the commission. That is a commission matter.”

GECOM spokeswoman, Yolanda Ward echoed Mr Persaud’s position, saying “that’s a commission matter and, therefore, I will have to consult with the commission before an answer can be given. Pressed repeatedly by reporters on why the answer is a secret, after 14 seconds, the Chief Election Officer said, “we are here to deal with operational matters and matters that pertain to our preparations that take us to and beyond the elections.”

Deputy Chief Election Officer, Aneal Giddings added that “I wouldn’t call it a secret. We have to seek the guidance of the Commission whether we should be putting this out there. We have not been given that imprimatur, so to speak, so we would prefer to consult with the Chairman and the Commission on this matter before we provide this information.”

Mr Giddings also cited the same reason when asked how long the person had been retained. “Again, that will fall under the same scope.”

Mr Persaud said he had not recently sought or seen advice from Mr Astaphan to GECOM. He said “at this time, I’m not aware that he has provided any” legal advice in the absence of a legal officer.

GECOM Chairman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh was not present at Monday’s news conference and the Chief Election Officer could not say why she was not at the first news conference for the 2025 general and regional elections scheduled for September 1, 2025. “I’m unable to explain that. That is something only the Chairman would be qualified to,” Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud said when asked to explain Ms Singh’s absence.

Mr Persaud also could not say whether the chairman would be present at future news conferences. “I can’t make comments on how the Chairman moves, what she does. That’s outside of my scope,” he added. He also said he could not answer questions on policy decisions as “that’s definitely above my pay grade.”

Mr Da Silva has since filed a defamation lawsuit against GECOM for contents of two news releases issued concerning his performance and the reason for not renewing his contract.

The Secretariat team also could not say of the 757,690 eligible voters, how many are Commonwealth citizens, citizens by naturalisation and Guyanese by descent. “We don’t have such a breakdown. We have never had the need to generate that until this request,” stated Mr Giddings. Before such information could be generated from the register of registrants, he said the Secretariat would have to seek approval from the seven-member commission. He said GECOM registers naturalised citizens based on authentic certificates of naturalisation.

In light of opposition concerns that the voters list is bloated with the names of deceased persons, migrants and ineligible persons such as Venezuelans with no connections to Guyana, the GECOM Secretariat team was asked why information about Commonwealth citizens – whose identification cards have the letter ‘C’-  was not being provided.

The Chief Election Officer said GECOM registers persons who are 18 years and older, and who are Guyanese citizens or Commonwealth citizens living in Guyana for one or more years. He said GECOM could only provide a report on “instruction” from the Commission. “We have no charge, no reason to categorise electors by nationality. That is not something that the Secretariat has been charged to do. We have not done so and unless we are asked specifically to do so, then we have no grounds for which to do it,” he said.