Georgetown: In the aftermath of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling one week ago that Justice (re’t) James Patterson appointment as Guyana Elections Commission(GECOM) chair was unconstitutional, he tendered his resignation.
According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, President David Granger on Tuesday morning met the former Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, who has since demitted office.
The President thanked Justice Patterson for his service over the past 20 months. The former GECOM Chair, who was appointed chair in October 2017, resigned on Monday June 24, 2019 thereby rendering that post vacant.
The decision by the former GECOM Chair to demit office is in keeping with the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) that his appointment was “flawed” and thereby unconstitutional.
According to the release, the Government of Guyana reiterates its acceptance of the CCJ ruling in the case of Zulfikar Mustafa and the Attorney General of Guyana and the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission.
The CCJ ruled that if the President were to capriciously elect a chairman, it would defeat the purpose of the constitutional role for the leader of the Opposition.
Further, the court ruled that the President was not entitled to lay down eligibility requirements for the chairman that were additional to or at variance with the constitution.
In view of what the Court called the “unfortunate the process” in appointing the GECOM chairman, it determined that the process was flawed and in breach of the constitution.
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