GECOM dismisses over 13,000 unsubstantiated objections in Region 5

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has rejected objections to a total of over 13,000 names being on the voters’ list in Region Five and now, calls are being sounded for those making the objections to be charged.

During a public hearing in Mahaicony this morning (Saturday, November 16, 2019) GECOM threw out objections to over 500 names on the list in west Region Five from Abary to Big Baiabu, Mahaica.

Only two days ago, objections to the names of 463 people from Moraikaboi were rejected by GECOM after those persons turned up at a public hearing to prove their existence and that they indeed reside at the addresses that GECOM had for them.

The list of eligible voters at Moraikaboi has 510 names and of that number, 463 were objected to.

The situation was no different this morning when Returning Officer Laikharam Pancham, in his capacity of Magistrate Designate, threw out several hundred of objections.

“I hereby declared that all these cases are withheld.”

After a request from Deputy Chief Scrutineer for the People Progressive Party (PPP/C), Fizal Jaffarally, the Magistrate Designate disclosed that these objections were made by APNU/AFC representative in Region Five, Carol Joseph.

According to Jaffarally, the objections were an act of mischief since Joseph, the Coalition’s Deputy Chief Scrutineer in the region, failed to show up at the hearing. He pointed out too that many of the persons who were being objected to are prominent members of the community and even some whom GECOM recently trained.

To this end, Jafarally posited that GECOM should not allow, what he described as a criminal offence, to go unpunished.

However, Pancham indicated that he does not have the authority to call in the police but will be passing the information the Elections Commission for it to decide what course of action will be taken, if any.

Meanwhile, in the other Sub-Decision between Abary and Ithaca, there were objections to the names of some 9,900 persons.

Those have also been dismissed by GECOM.

In Region Six, close to 200 names on the voters list were objected to but the objection was recalled.

This publication understands that the instructions to make the objections came from a senior party official.