GECOM says No to renewing Boodoo’s contract – established procedures were not followed – Commissioner Jaya Manickchand.

By Michael Younge

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally on Tuesday afternoon broke a tie which existed among commissioners after he voted against the reappointment of Gocool Boodoo as the entity’s chief elections officer.
The decision made by the constitutional body now paves the way for GECOM to advertise and recruit a new substantive chief election officer as soon as possible, bringing to an end several weeks of dialogue, deadlock and controversy over the issue.
Surujbally reportedly asked the commissioners to vote either “yes” or “no” on the matter of Boodoo’s reappointment, but several commissioners opted to offer for the record the reasons why they voted the way they did, before stating whether they were for or against his reappointment.
Closure
GECOM Public Relations Officer Vishnu Persaud, when interviewed on Tuesday evening, told Guyana Times International that the matter was brought to a closure as there was “nothing prohibiting the commission” from voting on the issue following the move by the acting chief justice to discharge the case brought by Boodoo.
Boodoo had moved to the High Court to challenge any attempt by GECOM to vote against his bid for reappointment as he had a legitimate expectation, but the case was dismissed on technicalities.
“The way is clear now for the commission to advertise the post… as soon as tomorrow a letter could be dispatched to Boodoo informing him of the official decision on his reappointment,” Persaud said.
He emphasised that the next step would be for the commissioners to draft the new terms of reference for the position of chief elections officer. This, he said, was a critical pillar in the scheme of things relating to the recruitment of the new officer.
Challenge
Asked whether Boodoo could still challenge the matter in the courts, Persaud stated that “that was his constitutional right”. He also explained that nothing prohibits the commission from continuing its work in the meantime.
Commissioners Sandra Jones, who filled the void that was left when opposition-member Robert Williams died, Vincent Alexander and Charles Corbin voted against Boodoo’s appointment.
When contacted, Dr Surujbally declined to comment, since he was driving at the moment. He pointed this publication in the direction of Persaud who was authorised to speak to the media on the issue.
Commissioner Jaya Manickchand, who along with Commissioners Dr Keshav ‘Bud’ Mangal and Mahmood Shaw voted in favour of Boodoo’s reappointment, did not feel that the matter was dealt with fairly from the onset.
Manickchand, an attorney, when contacted, said she is concerned that justice has not been served in the case of Boodoo’s request to be reappointed as chief elections officer.
She disclosed that at no time was Boodoo ever appraised during his 13-year stint at the constitutional body. She said surprisingly despite requests made for any information that could prove him unworthy of reappointment, such as warning letters and disciplinary memorandums, none were provided.
“I don’t believe the commission as a whole dealt with the entire proceedings of the Gocool Boodoo matter fairly. The established protocols were not followed… He was never appraised… and never given a hearing,” she explained.
Manikchand said she found it surprising that Commissioner Alexander would seek to make comments which sought to undermine the reputation of Boodoo, while publicly accusing him of deliberately changing formulas and other malpractice at this point of time, since Alexander, as far as she knew, never brought the matter to the commission’s attention after the 2011 elections.