High Court thwarts opposition attempt to remove Goocool Boodhoo from GECOM
Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang yesterday granted an injunction order which prevents the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from pronouncing on whether the contract of former Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodoo should be renewed without following the normal procedure used by the Commission for renewal of contracts for senior employees.
In the writ, Chairman of GECOM Dr. Steve Surujbally and Commissioners Mahmood Shaw, Keshav Mangal, Jaya Manickchand, Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Sandra Jones are named as respondents in the matter while Boodoo is the applicant. The matter was yesterday adjourned to July 10, 2013 at 11 am.
Boodhoo moved to the court after the opposition commissioners and chairman hatched a plan for his removal via non-renewal of his contract. In the Originating Notice of Motion, Boodoo is seeking an Order directed to the Chairman and Commissioners of GECOM to show why they have not renewed his contract which came to an end on April 30, 2013 and to thereby quash the decision not to automatically renew the contract on the grounds that the decision taken not to automatically renew the contract is being made in bad faith, undermining and interfering with the applicantβs constitutional right to work in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. In the Notice of Motion, he said that it is a legitimate expectation that his contract is renewed.
Boodoo is also seeking an Order of Mandamus directed to the Chairman and Commissioners of GECOM to renew the contract on the grounds that they must comply with the procedure that the Commission has established over the years when renewing contracts for senior employees.
Boodoo also sought an Order of Prohibition to prevent the Chairman and Commissioners of GECOM from making a decision not to renew Boodooβs contract without following the procedure.
The applicant is seeking the Orders on the grounds that his constitutional right to work is being denied by the Chairman and Commissioners of GECOM in an unfair and unjust manner.