Guyana President Says Government Still Committed To GECOM’s Request For Election Funds

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, March 27, 2019 (CMC) – President, David Granger, says his administration will ensure that a request, made by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for election funds, will be met, regardless of the recent ruling, handed down by the Court of Appeal.

“Regardless of what happened at the Supreme Court, regardless of what happened at the Court of Appeal and regardless of what will happen at the CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice), we are going to ensure that we satisfy GECOM’s request,” Granger told reporters, following the presentation of the Letters of Credence from Botswana and Zambia’s newly-accredited non-resident High Commissioners to Guyana, at the Ministry of the Presidency, today.

GECOM, in preparing for the possibility of early elections, wrote the president asking for  GUY$3.5 million, to host polls at the regional and national level.

“I have made it clear that the government, the Executive Branch, cannot interfere in the internal administration and decision-making of GECOM. We cannot intrude, we cannot interfere, we cannot direct or instruct them,” the President said. 

He reiterated that his government will “satisfy those needs and we are going to go back to the Parliament, whoever attends, we are going to go back to Parliament and make redress, to ensure that GECOM has everything it needs. We are committed to having clean elections, credible elections, in this country”.

Meanwhile, GECOM has started its preparations for house-to-house registration, a process that was catered for in the last budget.