GECOM chairman back to work today – PPP requests elections date, status of preparedness be placed on agenda
Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d), James Patterson, who was ailing for the past few weeks, is due back at work today. He is expected to get right down to work and meet with commissioners for the normal weekly statutory forum.
According to GECOM’s spokesperson, Yolanda Ward, it will be recalled that earlier this month the 85-year-old Chairman was given two more weeks by his doctor to rest.
The medical condition of Patterson would be important, as Guyana is facing early elections because of an historic December 21 no-confidence vote by Government parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud.
Constitutionally, the vote has triggered elections within three months. The vote is being challenged in the High Court. However, the People’s Progressive Party, which is in the Opposition, through its three commissioners on GECOM, has been pushing for meetings to determine the readiness of the entity.
The presence of Patterson, as Chairman, is critical to those meetings.
Justice (ret’d) James Patterson being sworn in as GECOM’s Chairman in 2017.
Among other things, Patterson was supposed to meet with representatives of both the Government and Opposition to talk about the preparedness of the commission for early elections.
Members of Parliament (MPs), Amna Ally and Gail Teixeira, both Chief Whips for their respective sides, have been nominated.
According to Ward, the Chairman will most likely meet with the commissioners first, which comprise representatives of the two sides, to discuss the meeting with the Chief Whips.
Yesterday, PPP’s commissioner Robeson Benn said that he has received notification for the meeting today.
Benn has since written the commission asking that two items be placed on the agenda for discussion – the timing for elections consequent to the no-confidence vote and the preparations of GECOM for elections.
After falling ill and being hospitalized last month, Patterson had set January 8, 2019 for the next meeting. However, GECOM announced that his medical leave had been extended following a visit to his doctor on January 7, 2019.
“The Chairman had earlier indicated that that he would resume duty on 8th January, 2019 and to reconvene a statutory meeting after being absent since early December due to illness. While, the Chairman has been recovering well, he was advised by his doctor to have some additional rest to ensure that he fully recovers to effectively resume duty,” GECOM said in a statement earlier this month.
Patterson, who was appointed by President David Granger after debates over the “Fit and Proper” criteria, missed a statutory meeting of commissioners last month because of illness.
He was then transferred from the Davis Memorial Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, D’Urban Backlands, to Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital where tests and procedures were performed.
PPP commissioner in GECOM, Robeson Benn
The Chairman was said to have been in the Intensive Care Unit.
Prior to Patterson missing the December 4, 2018 meeting because of illness, the Opposition commissioners had walked out the week before. The commission would have been just coming out of Local Government Elections (LGE) held on November 12, 2018.
Reports of the elections as well as other critical issues were set to be discussed.
GECOM has six commissioners, excluding the Chairman. Three commissioners are nominated by the Government and three from the Opposition.
GECOM is an independent entity tasked with overseeing General Elections and LGE.
The positions are jealously guarded by political parties, with the Chairman’s post being something of a hot-seat.
