Elections

The opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is likely to pull out of talks with the governing coalition on selecting a new Chairman for the Guyana Elections (GECOM) if government does not clarify whether the list of 18 nominees first has to be distilled by President Granger’s representatives, sources said. “Unless we get clarity, I’m ending the engagement,” a source said. ...

By GHK Lall I read the latest development in the ongoing soap opera of selecting a chair for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in the predawn hours of Tuesday. The coalition’s list is synonymous with a sewage system. An untreated, overflowing sewage system. I gagged. I can’t be awake; this is a nightmare, and the worst kind: one where my ...

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo Monday night said he was prepared to nominate more persons for the post of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, but threatened to pull out of talks with President David Granger if there is bad faith. “We are acting in good faith but if the government does not act in good faith, then we will be put ...

President David Granger has submitted eight names to the Parliamentary opposition for its consideration, as the two sides continue the search for a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), government’s Department of Public Information reported Monday night. The eight persons nominated by the Head of State are retired justices Stanley Moore and Claudette La Bennet, Economist Dr. Aubrey Armstrong, ...

by GHK Lall I was hoping for a serious list, not necessarily an entirely new list, but one that offered names holding out some hope that the electoral challenges at hand were viewed through a wider lens. I suppose that, now it is on the record, the best will have to be done with it. And if this is the ...

The Guyana government wants the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to rule that it cannot direct when general elections should be held and that if Parliament fails to extend the timeframe, the President should name elections date after a new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is appointed and advises him of its readiness. “If this Court orders that ...

By GHK Lall Media reports are that there is some hint of leadership movement on one issue: chairperson for Gecom. It should be cause for optimism, that a pathway is being recognized that has to be drilled out of the chronic constipation. The Guyanese people are encouraged to harbor such optimism. For my part, I am more inclined to view ...

As Guyana’s governing coalition and the opposition remain at loggerheads over whether there should be house-to-house registration to create a new voters’ list, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Bharrat Jagdeo brushed off suggestions that the existing voters’ list is more advantageous to his party. Asked whether the PPP intended to fly in its supporters from overseas to vote ...

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo Thursday afternoon emerged from what he said were promising talks with President David Granger on appointing a new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). “We had a relatively productive engagement”, Jagdeo said, adding that they both expected that it should be settled “in a matter of days”. “We are hoping that with good-faith negotiations on ...

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) on Saturday welcomed Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo’s willingness to allow President David Granger to float names for the possible appointment of a new chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), but cautioned against whittling away Jagdeo’s constitutional role. “We think that’s a starting point and the Opposition Leader should be commended for taking that position, ...