This story is developing and will be updated.

Following another two-hour meeting today, representatives of President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo failed to find consensus on six nominees for the post of chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon told reporters outside Castellani House that five of the 11 names submitted by Jagdeo have been shortlisted.

Harmon defined shortlisted as being put forward for further consideration. This definition did not find favour with the Opposition representatives who stressed that they needed to know which names were “not unacceptable” to the President as set out in the constitution.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall bemoaned the fact that the representatives seemed unable to say if the eight names suggested by President Granger were “not unacceptable” to him while Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan complained that the opposition was unwilling to discuss the eight names at all.

He stressed that the President has put all his cards on the table in relation to Jagdeo’s nominees but the Opposition Leader refused to do the same.

The two sides meeting today. (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

It would now be up to the President and the Opposition Leader to meet to settle on the list. It is unclear how the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will react to this stalemate. The CCJ is to hand down consequential orders tomorrow on the matter of the unconstitutionality of President Granger’s appointment of Justice (Rtd) James Patterson as GECOM Chairman and on the upheld motion of no confidence.