Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has asked President Irfaan Ali to swear in three new opposition-backed persons as election commissioners in line with parliamentary representation following last September’s general and regional elections.
In a letter dated June 30, Mr Mohamed advised Dr Ali to appoint lawyers Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva as members of the Guyana Elections Commission, having “meaningfully consulted” with the opposition political parties represented in the National Assembly in keeping with Article 161(3)(b) of the Constitution of Guyana.
While A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) chairman Aubrey Norton had refused to meet with Mr Mohamed on the grounds that there was no vacancy in GECOM, Forward Guyana Movement’s (FGM) leader Amanza Walton-Desir attended a meeting with Mr Mohamed, Mr Norton and the three GECOM Commissioners — Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman.
Those commissioners maintained that they would not resign unless Guyana’s Constitution and laws are amended, reflecting Mr Norton and APNU’s wishes.
However, the opposition leader told President Ali that the seven-member commission should reflect the fact that the main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) won 16 seats, APNU, 12 and FGM, one seat.
He hoped that Dr Ali would swiftly swear in the new trio as Guyana edges closer towards local government elections later this year.
“The need for a properly constituted Elections Commission which represents the makeup of the opposition’s parliamentary configuration, has become increasingly urgent in light of the national obligation placed on the Commission to ensure that Local Government Elections are held as soon as possible,” Mr Mohamed told Dr Ali.
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