August 29,2107 Source
Padlocked office greets GECOM deputy chief – told contract has expired.
As the impasse over the selection of a new chairperson for the Guyana Elections.
Commission (GECOM) continues, there are reports now of another major issue. It involves Deputy Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Vishnu Persaud, who reportedly met new locks on his doors when he arrived to resume work last week Monday.Officials said that Persaud’s three-year contract with GECOM ended earlier this month.He reportedly returned on Monday, August 14, and worked until the weekend.
Last week Monday, August 21, Persaud, who has been in the employ of GECOM since 2001, returned to work and met the locks to his office changed.Sources said that Persaud sought explanations and was told by a senior official that based on legal advice, his contract had ended. The advice had reportedly come from the Chambers of the Attorney General.
Contacted yesterday, the Deputy CEO, who served in that position for three years, said he will not be commenting on the matter.
“I am not at liberty to discuss the matter, as I am talking to my lawyer, and we are exploring our legal options.”Legal sources are questioning the manner in which the official’s term ended.“Mr. Persaud has an expectation that the contract would have been renewed, although you have clauses which could see either side deciding to end it. The way it was done…is not how things are supposed to be done,” a lawyer noted yesterday.