Medical leave of GECOM Chairman further extended

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has informed that the medical leave of its Chairman, Retired Justice James Patterson has been extended following a visit to his doctor on January 7, 2019.

News Room understands that Justice Patterson, 85, has been away from work since December 2018 when he did not show up for the regular statutory meeting with GECOM Commissioners on December 4.

The Chairman had earlier indicated that he would resume duty on January 8, 2019, to reconvene a statutory meeting, but his doctor has since advised against this.

“While the Chairman has been recovering well, he was advised by his doctor to have some additional rest to ensure that he fully recovers to effectively resume duty. The Chairman will provide further updates on his resumption,” a GECOM statement on Tuesday noted.

When contacted, GECOM Commissioner, Bibi Shadick, told News Room that she was contacted at 10:00hrs on Tuesday and informed by Justice Patterson’s Secretary that the statutory meeting was cancelled and that his medical leave was extended for a further two weeks.

Justice Patterson is away from work at a time when the country could possibly go to elections in the next three months following the successful passage of the No-Confidence Motion against the Coalition Government.

GECOM has since come under the microscope and questions surround whether it is ready for the next general and regional elections.

Justice Patterson was unilaterally appointed to chair GECOM by President David Granger in October 2017 and since his appointment,  several organisations and political commentators had noted that he was not ‘fit and proper’ to head such an important entity.