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. ...
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OPINION: Coalition list is synonymous with an overflowing sewage system
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 ...
Read More »Opposition Leader threatens to pull out from ‘bad faith’ talks with President to select new GECOM Chairman
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 ...
Read More »President submits James Patterson, 7 others for GECOM Chair
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, ...
Read More »OPINION: New GECOM list: an Ocean’s Eleven of the mostly unfavorable
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 ...
Read More »Guyana gov’t asks Caribbean Court to leave elections up to Parliament, GECOM, President, Opposition Leader
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 ...
Read More »OPINION: A case for sharing with a vision of progressing
By GHK Lall There has been a sporadic drumbeat relative to some mechanism for shared governance as the way forward. I offer a high-level view, as to why this is the only measure that facilitates some movement out of the political and racial gutter. I now identify some of the pluses and disadvantages of such a shared apparatus, whatever shape ...
Read More »OPINION: Cause for optimism or more Guyanese political torture
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 ...
Read More »OPINION: The Forest Sector: The Jewel Standing Tall at the Intersection of Guyana’s Green and Brown Economy
By Deonarine Ramsaroop, Rafeek Khan and Dr. David Singh Guyana now stands at the winners’ podium for its non-renewable natural resources. Its oil and gas reserves are causing a growth rate of 16.3% between 2018 and 2021, double that of Ethiopia the next fastest growing economy. Indeed, the country’s brown economic output is set to explode. In a few short ...
Read More »Jagdeo deflects questions on whether existing voters’ list advantageous to PPP
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 ...
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