Following the announcement by the Electoral Committee that four GFF affiliates, including the Guyana Police Force, are ineligible to vote at Saturday’s elections due to not being in good standing, club President, Senior Superintendent Jermaine Johnson, has rubbished the ruling, declaring it’s an effort to smear the entity’s reputation.

In a letter that was seen by this publication and sent yesterday to GFF General Secretary Ian Alves, Johnson stated that the club was unaware that it was deemed to not be in good standing and was only made aware of its voting ineligibility via an article in another section of the media, which, in the entity’s opinion, given the contents of the article, is an intentional move to sully its reputation.

According to the letter, “the basis of the prohibition appears to flow from an alleged breach of Article 15.1(b) of the Guyana Football Federation Statutes. A copy of the newspaper article is herewith attached. As is known, Article 15(1)(b) of the Guyana Football Federation Statutes provides that members of the Guyana Football Federation must ensure the election of its decision-making bodies at least every four years. On April 1, 2020, the current executive body of the Police FC was appointed. Copies of the appointment letters are hereto attached. Thus, the Police FC is compliant with Article 15.1(b). Accordingly, the statement in the newspaper article is unfounded and wholly false. It is also our view that the article is a deliberate attempt to tarnish the reputation of the Guyana Police Force as a whole.” The GFF Electoral Committee disclosed on Saturday, December 2nd, that only 18 of the 22 affiliates are eligible to vote, declaring that Elite League clubs GPF, Santos, Western Tigers, and solitary association West Demerara are ineligible owing to being in good standing based on provisions of the GFF Statutes and the GFF Electoral Code, including Article 15.1 of the GFF Statutes.

The Electoral Committee revealed that the eligible voters are: Bartica Football Association; Berbice Football Association; East Bank Football Association; East Coast Demerara Football Association; Essequibo/Pomeroon Football Association; Georgetown Football Association (GFA); Upper Demerara Football Association; Rupununi Football Association; Guyana Football Coaches’ Association; Guyana Football Referees’ Council; The Women’s Football Association; Ann’s Grove Football Club;