…says focus remains on constitutional priorities

GECOM CEO Vishnu Persaud

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has ruled out any possibility of a referendum being held before the constitutionally due 2025 General and Regional elections, noting that the election, and not a referendum, is the electoral body’s priority.
During a press conference on Friday, GECOM Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud, made it clear that the electoral body is in no position to hold referendum, since it would hinder their ability to conduct General and Regional Elections.
“First of all, at this time we are not aware in the slightest way, shape or form of any indication of there being the need for a referendum as something that GECOM should focus on, that’s number one… there is no time between now and that period within which we can hold it because obviously, the constitutionally due conduct of general elections cannot be interfered with,” he said.
And while the issues for the referendum could be included on the ballots for the General and Regional Elections, as occurs in other jurisdictions, Persaud noted that laws would have to be changed to facilitate this.
“Obviously, the constitutionally due conduct of general elections cannot be interfered with. Laws would have to be changed to make provisions for all of that and I don’t see that happening in time to…if there is to be a referendum I must say in that regard,” Persaud added.
There have been recent calls from the opposition, including the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) for a referendum on whether the Government should renegotiate the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil.
However, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has already expressed its disapproval of such a referendum before the constitutionally due 2025 General and Regional elections.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had pointed out that AFC is the very same party, in the person of former Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who signed the 2016 agreement. Jagdeo had reiterated the PPP/C’s position that it is not in favor of a referendum for next year, making it clear that GECOM, which would hypothetically be tasked with carrying out the massive preparations a referendum necessitates, has to focus on preparing for the next General and Regional Elections and be in a state of readiness by next year August.
According to the Vice President, AFC would love to have GECOM divert its attention from the upcoming election. Jagdeo noted, however, that the PPP/C would not be sucked into AFC’s trap, even as the smaller party scrambles for issues to latch onto to generate support.
At a subsequent press conference, Jagdeo had also noted that while the 2016 PSA may present problems when it comes to acting on a successful referendum, the matter could still be relooked at after the General and Regional elections.
During an edition of his ‘Issues in the News’, Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall had also been critical of the calls for the referendum. He too had pointed to the irony of the opposition calling for a referendum on an agreement they themselves had finalised.
Nandlall had described the calls as “ridiculous”, pointing out that “they (AFC) hid this contract for nearly two years without telling the people of Guyana that they have signed a contract that is perhaps the most important document ever signed in the history of Guyana.”
According to the AG, “the contract itself says in about 10 clauses…that it cannot be altered unilaterally. It can only be altered with consent by both parties.” Already, ExxonMobil has already expressed its unwillingness to altering the contract. (G3)