Commissioner Alexander stands by his ‘word’

Commissioner Vincent Alexander told reporters yesterday that he stands by the statements he made, when he said that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) received information from the APNU+AFC Coalition about ‘migrant voters’ and that the Chair wrote to the Chief Immigration Officer to verify that information.

Alexander had reason to double down on his statements after Commissioner Sase Gunraj on Friday told reporters that he was not aware that GECOM received any information from the Coalition or that any information was sent to the Chief Immigration Officer.

Though Commissioner Sase Gunraj had claimed ignorance about GECOM having received information from the Coalition, and about that information being forwarded to the Chief Immigration Officer, Alexander said that the full Commission was present when Justice Singh notified them that she had received the information from the Coalition, and that she had sent it off for verification.

ANUG Chairman, Timothy Jonas yesterday pointed to the contradicting reports from the Commissioners, making it clear that the GECOM Chair should come forward and clarify the commission’s stance on any probe of the APNU+AFC’s allegations of voter fraud.

The ANUG Chair questioned: “How are they [the Secretariat] doing this investigation that Mr. Alexander feels comfortable to tell you about, but nobody else in GECOM knows about it? How does it know and why does he try to pretend to give it some stamp of authenticity by coming here to tell you about it—and it is done without the sanction of GECOM which is the body responsible? Is he part of the problem? Does he know something that we don’t? That is something that we need to be worried about.”

Jonas appealed to the GECOM Chair to inform Guyana about the election commission’s stance regarding their decision to probe the voter fraud allegations, which being put forward by the governing Coalition.
“It is time for the Chairman of GECOM, now that Mr. Alexander has made that statement, to inform Guyana regarding GECOM’s position on it; whether GECOM has given these instructions; whether GECOM is going to undertake this process to inquire with an immigration officer so that he could give his evidence,” Jonas said in his appeal.

Alexander told reporters that what he said on Thursday was a matter of fact, and that he challenges anybody to question the fact that GECOM has received information from APNU+AFC and that information has been passed on to the Chief Immigration Officer.

He also challenged anyone to question “that the Chairperson of GECOM, in a meeting of GECOM made it known to all of us [the Commission] that she had written the Chief Immigration Officer. She made it known to all of us, and so anybody who suggests otherwise is a stranger to the truth.”

“She made it unequivocally known that she’d received information and if I’m not mistaken, even when she’d made it known, a particular Commissioner asked and saw a copy of the letter which she had sent to the Chief Immigration Officer,” Alexander stated.

He said that one letter was sent early in the week before the last, to the Chief Immigration Officer.
Commissioner Gunraj had specifically taken issue with any insinuation that the Chair would have made a move to probe the claims being made by the Coalition, without a decision being made at the level of the Commission. Of this, Alexander said that the Chair simply indicated to the Commission that she received information and that she had sent it off for verification.

Asked whether any Commissioners dissented to her decision, Alexander said that there were some “negative comments”.
Pointed to the fact that at least one other Commissioner claimed ignorance about this matter, Alexander said “Well, I can only consider them to be strangers to the truth.”
He said that what he reported is a matter of fact.
“I stand on my word.”

Kaieteur News contacted Commissioner Gunraj last night, who said that he has made a request to the Chair to see all the correspondents she received and that she has sent in relation to the matter. He said that he has not received anything, since he made that request yesterday morning.
When asked about Alexander’s statement that the full Commission was informed of the matter, Gunraj only offered that he stands by his comments.
But he would not say further, saying that he had not listened to Alexander’s report, and that he would prefer not to comment.

On the matter of claims being made by the Coalition, Alexander said yesterday that he has seen other letters sent by the APNU+AFC Coalition, asking for explanations or determination on a number of issues. He said that he has also seen, in addition to the first list of purported ‘foreign voters’ from the Coalition, subsequent lists “unrelated to the one which was sent.”
“So, I don’t know, others may be sent,” Alexander said.

Asked about getting definitive answers from the Chair or the Public Relations Officer, Alexander could not say when or if at all the GECOM Chair and the Commissioners will be meeting with the media.
The Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward has not conducted briefings with the media for close to two weeks. To justify her absence, Ward had explained that she would not conduct briefings unless concrete decisions are made at the level of the Commission.

Alexander told reporters that interactions of Commissioners, particularly himself, with the media is a continuation of what emerged at GECOM’s High Street office, where the press visited and sought the comments of Commissioners, or the comments of whoever was available, on what had been happening during the Region Four tabulation process.

“And it is in that context that I have continued to speak to the press, expressing my view about things and making information available that is factual in terms of what has occurred in the Commission. That’s my disposition, to make factual information available and on occasions, I will give an opinion and I have always been careful when I’m giving an opinion, to say to the press that this is my personal view in expressing. I’ve never attempted to be the person officially speaking on behalf of GECOM. But I’ve been responsive to your estate… by availing myself at your request, in the first instance to be interviewed,” Alexander explained last evening.

Asked whether the Commission would be granting a press conference at any time, Alexander said “I cannot speak for the Commission in that regard and I’d rather say this to you. The Commission is as fractured as you should have realized that I don’t see how a fractured Commission collectively will speak to the press.”