GECOM boss dismisses calls for resignation

By Michael Younge
Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said there is no need for a drastic reform of the elections body, and dismissed calls for his resignation as baseless.
Dr Surujbally said he has no difficulty resigning his post as head of GECOM, if at some time, there is some factual reason or due cause shown as to why he should pursue this path.
The GECOM chairman was at the time speaking during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International. His comments come on the heels of opposition calls for his resignation, and that of the Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodhoo, after it was dissatisfied with the manner in which GECOM handled aspects of the elections tabulation and declaration of results.
Dr Surujbally explained that he “was ready to go yesterday”, stating that “if that is the will of the people – Vox populi Vox dei”. The GECOM boss is however convinced that he has performed credibly and to the satisfaction of majority of the electorate, and will stay on until such time arises for him to demit the honourable and constitutional office of chairman of the elections body.

“There is no lack of integrity and definitely no inefficiency or incompetence here”, Dr Surujbally said, as he dismissed arguments that he had in some way compromised himself and the outcome of the November 28, 2011 elections.
“My job is to hold the commission together, and I dare say, which I have done reasonably well”, the chairman opined, explaining that he is but one of the seven commissioners who form part of the electoral management body that governs both the secretariat and the execution of elections.
He argued that the team of commissioners that has been appointed to GECOM by political parties are independent once sworn in, and have been functioning in the interest of the Guyanese electorate.
Dr Surujbally said too that the commissioners together with the secretariat’s hard working and knowledgeable staff are “the best team” to manage the affairs of the commission. He was convinced and adamant at the same time, that the commission delivered on its promise to the Guyanese public, to execute free and fair elections, and elections that were free from fear.
Dr Surujbally does not believe like some other proponents of reforms, that scrapping the commission and changing its staff and commissioners will have any direct impact on the way in which GECOM does it business much less the commission’s ability to stage credible, free and fair elections.
As a matter of fact, he said that the current staff and commissioners collective is a reservoir of institutional knowledge and information that cannot be replaced by simply waving a magic wand.
Asked to state his position on the wider talks about reforms that emanated after the commission somewhat failed to deliver allegedly on expectations, with respect to the speedy declaration of results, Dr Surujbally said “to have results in two and a half days is a remarkable achievement”. “I say it’s quite an achievement anywhere, anytime in the world in a system of proportional representation,” he stated confidently, explaining that the terrain of the country, the size of the constituency and the other geographic and logistical systems had to be properly handled for this to be possible.
He said that were he to score his team’s performance in the lead up and preparatory phases of the elections, they would receive full marks.
The GECOM chairman also praised the logistics and systems that were in place for the elections, stating that all systems functioned, and all plans were successfully implemented.
“That is testimony to the fact that our systems were functional and the commission was able to go through the results as tabulated and make the necessary corrections before making the official declaration,” he informed.
This, he alleged only delayed the declaration of results by a mere half an hour.
“And yet there was a stir up and perpetuation about a myth, which said that we took a long time, and why when we have 15 days,” Dr Surujbally explained.
He blamed the behaviour of the critics as fostering the lack of trust which exist within the political arena and among stakeholders for the high levels of unnecessary costs that are associated with staging national elections, referring to political party scrutineers, cross referencing and finger printing matching among other things that are done.
He also challenged those proponents for change and reform of the commission to be more specific in their public discourses and statements, so that the commission could benefit from their suggestions and ideas.
“I have great difficulty in some of these statements,” he related, while arguing that he is ambivalent on these issues because of the ambiguity of the arguments put forward.
“We will have to define ‘reforms’ and what are we reforming. What systems are they talking about? In fact, these reports as you call them from the different observer groups have not specified or spelt out what reforms they are talking about,” he stated.
He is standing by the operations, protocols and policies of GECOM but has not dismissed the need for changes and development in various areas. As a matter of fact, Dr Surujbally believes that there may be need for a review and reassessment of the manner in which commissioners are selected and appointed to the commission, which could result in a more vibrant body.
He is open to a rethinking of the practice which sees commissioners appointed to GECOM for “life”. He is open to change in the manner in which voting or ballots are casted, but cautioned that neither the powers that be, nor the political parties have advised him that they would like to pursue systems to allow for electronic voting.
By Michael Younge
Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said there is no need for a drastic reform of the elections body, and dismissed calls for his resignation as baseless.Dr Surujbally said he has no difficulty resigning his post as head of GECOM, if at some time, there is some factual reason or due cause shown as to why he should pursue this path.The GECOM chairman was at the time speaking during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International. His comments come on the heels of opposition calls for his resignation, and that of the Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodhoo, after it was dissatisfied with the manner in which GECOM handled aspects of the elections tabulation and declaration of results.Dr Surujbally explained that he “was ready to go yesterday”, stating that “if that is the will of the people – Vox populi Vox dei”. The GECOM boss is however convinced that he has performed credibly and to the satisfaction of majority of the electorate, and will stay on until such time arises for him to demit the honourable and constitutional office of chairman of the elections body.“There is no lack of integrity and definitely no inefficiency or incompetence here”, Dr Surujbally said, as he dismissed arguments that he had in some way compromised himself and the outcome of the November 28, 2011 elections.“My job is to hold the commission together, and I dare say, which I have done reasonably well”, the chairman opined, explaining that he is but one of the seven commissioners who form part of the electoral management body that governs both the secretariat and the execution of elections.He argued that the team of commissioners that has been appointed to GECOM by political parties are independent once sworn in, and have been functioning in the interest of the Guyanese electorate.Dr Surujbally said too that the commissioners together with the secretariat’s hard working and knowledgeable staff are “the best team” to manage the affairs of the commission. He was convinced and adamant at the same time, that the commission delivered on its promise to the Guyanese public, to execute free and fair elections, and elections that were free from fear.Dr Surujbally does not believe like some other proponents of reforms, that scrapping the commission and changing its staff and commissioners will have any direct impact on the way in which GECOM does it business much less the commission’s ability to stage credible, free and fair elections.As a matter of fact, he said that the current staff and commissioners collective is a reservoir of institutional knowledge and information that cannot be replaced by simply waving a magic wand.Asked to state his position on the wider talks about reforms that emanated after the commission somewhat failed to deliver allegedly on expectations, with respect to the speedy declaration of results, Dr Surujbally said “to have results in two and a half days is a remarkable achievement”. “I say it’s quite an achievement anywhere, anytime in the world in a system of proportional representation,” he stated confidently, explaining that the terrain of the country, the size of the constituency and the other geographic and logistical systems had to be properly handled for this to be possible.He said that were he to score his team’s performance in the lead up and preparatory phases of the elections, they would receive full marks.The GECOM chairman also praised the logistics and systems that were in place for the elections, stating that all systems functioned, and all plans were successfully implemented.“That is testimony to the fact that our systems were functional and the commission was able to go through the results as tabulated and make the necessary corrections before making the official declaration,” he informed.This, he alleged only delayed the declaration of results by a mere half an hour.“And yet there was a stir up and perpetuation about a myth, which said that we took a long time, and why when we have 15 days,” Dr Surujbally explained.He blamed the behaviour of the critics as fostering the lack of trust which exist within the political arena and among stakeholders for the high levels of unnecessary costs that are associated with staging national elections, referring to political party scrutineers, cross referencing and finger printing matching among other things that are done.He also challenged those proponents for change and reform of the commission to be more specific in their public discourses and statements, so that the commission could benefit from their suggestions and ideas.“I have great difficulty in some of these statements,” he related, while arguing that he is ambivalent on these issues because of the ambiguity of the arguments put forward.“We will have to define ‘reforms’ and what are we reforming. What systems are they talking about? In fact, these reports as you call them from the different observer groups have not specified or spelt out what reforms they are talking about,” he stated.He is standing by the operations, protocols and policies of GECOM but has not dismissed the need for changes and development in various areas. As a matter of fact, Dr Surujbally believes that there may be need for a review and reassessment of the manner in which commissioners are selected and appointed to the commission, which could result in a more vibrant body.He is open to a rethinking of the practice which sees commissioners appointed to GECOM for “life”. He is open to change in the manner in which voting or ballots are casted, but cautioned that neither the powers that be, nor the political parties have advised him that they would like to pursue systems to allow for electronic voting.