City Council to hold fresh elections for deputy mayor

Embarrassed by a court ruling that scrapped its election of the deputy mayor recently, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council said it has no other choice than to abide with the decision and steps will be taken shortly to properly elect the officer.
Last Friday, Chief Justice Ian Chang ruled that the election of Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green was invalid, positing that the electoral process was in breach of the law. The verdict was handed down in a matter brought by Councillor Llewellyn John with Chase-Green and acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba as respondents.
“It is a technicality, and I must abide by the rulings of the court,” Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green told Guyana Times International. After appropriate consultations, the town clerk will be advised to summon a special meeting for the staging of another election for the post, the mayor said.
An optimistic Green said the election will be held long before December 31. “That shouldn’t be a matter of moment;  as soon as I complete my consultations, I will have the meeting… it is important that some rounds of consultation take place so that the process is smooth and without further acrimony,” he said.
However, he contended that most of the senior officers were present when the election took place and did not view it as flawed. According to Mayor Green, Councillor John objected to the election but his contentions were minor. “Yes, he did object at the time… for me it was a minor issue, it is what the laws say, but for me it’s about substance and at that election, the majority of councillors voted the way they did.”
Chase-Green when contacted declined from commenting on the issue. She disclosed that the municipality’s public relations office will soon publish a release addressing the matter.
John in presenting his case before the High Court said Chase-Green was invalidly elected as deputy mayor. He explained that “there was no notice. Alternatively, there was no sufficient notice of the meeting on 12th March 2012 at which the purported election was held, inasmuch as a notice relating thereto was only delivered in the afternoon of the day immediately preceding the elections”.

He further contended that the election was conducted during a regular meeting which saw other items beside the electoral process taking precedence, contrary to the laws governing the municipality.
Chang in his ruling said his decision is in keeping with the Municipal and District Councils Act Chapter 2801. He pointed out that the “town clerk has to publish the notice of the time and place of the intended meeting and cause a copy thereof to be served on the city councillors not less than three days before a meeting held, pursuant to subsection one of section 12 which provides for the calling of a meeting by the town clerk for the purpose of electing the mayor and deputy mayor”.
In addition, Justice Chang said “it is undisputed that the meeting” held on March 12 was not designed specifically to facilitate the electoral process but other arising issues as well – another breach of the law.