BY DEVINA SAMAROO

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo dismissed claims made by Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Dr

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Steve Surujbally when he insisted individuals are hired based on merit and not on their ethnic composition. “If you hire people on the merit, the imbalance that we see in GECOM staff wouldn’t be so glaring… You can’t say that 95 per cent of the people of one race are the only ones who can past the test,” Jagdeo posited, expressing his belief that deliberate actions are being taken to ensure a certain group of persons are employed with GECOM for sinister reasons. On Wednesday, Dr Surujbally told the media that People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary (GS) Clement Rohee made several queries about the supposed “ethnic imbalance” of GECOM’s staff. In response, Dr Surujbally accused the GS of promoting ethnic division as he insisted there is no ethnic imbalance within GECOM’s staff, pointing out that even if there was, individuals are hired based on merit and nothing else. “If you want to change the procedure and say we must have “x” amount of this race and “y” amount of that, then GECOM will have to be under another Chairman…,” he had stated. During a televised interview on TVG Channel 28, the Opposition Leader said he strongly believes there is an element of dishonesty in the hiring process for GECOM. “Some people’s applications were thrown away. Some people, Indo-Guyanese, finished the University of Guyana and they failed the test, a simple test that a person with secondary education can past yet they fail the test. The issue is that there is no transparency… We think it is deliberate and that is why we want a transparent system to hire people,” Jagdeo stated. He disclosed that these concerns were addressed with GECOM and discussions have commenced on the issue.

Controversy Meanwhile, controversy over the issue emerged after it was revealed that the PPP/C General Secretary had requested data relative to the ethnicity of GECOM’s staff. Rohee has since came in for harsh criticisms from both GECOM and Government for making such inquiries since it was deemed as fuelling ethnic division in the country. Social Cohesion Minister Amna Ally during a recent interview lashed out at Rohee for making such inquiries, claiming it goes entirely against the work of her Ministry. “Responding to Mr Rohee’s concern on ethnicity and employment, I would like to say that the sooner politicians realise that we are all Guyanese and we need not to divide Guyana based on race, the sooner Guyana will be taken to a higher level of fostering social cohesion,” Minister Ally said. GECOM Chairman also blasted Rohee as he urged politicians to stop using the race card for political gains.

Sinister plot Coming off the topic of ethnic imbalance within GECOM, the Opposition Leader alluded to a sinister plot being concocted by government to ensure they win the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE). Jagdeo said people have expressed concerns to him about issuance of fake and multiple birth certificates from the Citizenship Ministry, which would aid in ensuring multiple voting by one individual on elections day. “So if that happens, if GECOM does the registration process, even if that process is fair, it will still result in people who ought not to be on the electoral role will be on the electoral role. There is a sinister plan surrounding this…,” Jagdeo said, noting that similar activities have occurred in the past when the People’s National Congress (PNC) continuously rigged elections. The second part of the sinister plot which people have expressed concerns about is the recruitment of individuals into the army and the damaging of the army’s professionalism. “About half of those soldiers are who coming in are not from the career stream but from a political stream… significant number of the new recruits are being put in there, politically planted there,” Jagdeo said, noting again this was an action in the past where the PNC government gained total control of the army. “Young political activist from the YSM were placed in the army, they got accelerated promotions to the top and then the professionalism of the army got subsumed by political leadership and at the time Mr Granger was reporting to the Office of the President. Now that is being replicated,” he stated.

Free and Fair elections Therefore, Jagdeo contended that all of these actions, if proven to be true, are a part of a bigger sinister plot to ensure there are no longer free and fair elections in Guyana. “So even if you get the reforms at GECOM, you will have other influences that would lead to us not having free and fair elections in the future,” Jagdeo stated. Previously, he had told Guyana Times the PPP/C is investigating a corruption ring in government and that more information will become available in time. This sinister plan is also being investigated and Jagdeo noted that if evidence is found, the Party will sure draw international attention to the matter. (devinas@guyanatimesgy.com)