Steve Surujbally
After several months of searching, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is yet to make a substantive decision on the appointment of a new chief elections officer.
GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally told Guyana Times International on Tuesday that commissioners are expected to resume work on January 21, where they will discuss in more detail the appointment of a new chief elections officer.
Calvin Benn remains the acting chief elections officer until such time a decision is made to fill the substantive position.
Dr Surujbally had said that the current team of GECOM officials is doing the job in the meantime. He said “people should not worry”, as the current team is competent to oversee the next elections, even the highly anticipated local government elections.
Calvin Benn and his assistant Keith Lowenfield are among 14 persons who applied to become GECOM’s chief elections officer. Both of them have served GECOM for a number of years in senior capacities.
The post of chief elections officer became vacant after GECOM declined to renew the contract of Gocool Boodoo after concerns were raised in the opposition camp about a computing mistake made in the allocation of seats in the 2011 elections.
The mistake had been rectified, and government had been staunch in its support of the then chief elections officer, arguing that he had done a stellar job through the years.
Boodoo’s late submission of notice of his intent to seek renewal of his contract also negatively affected his prospects
Dr Surujbally had told this newspaper previously that the entire team met and was looking to finalise the shortlist for the candidates, who have applied for the position.
He said based on the criteria prescribed in the job description for the post, the team has been able to point out certain critical areas to decide on successful applications.
