GECOM is making a mountain out of a molehill!

Dear Editor,
It is outright unconstitutional and against the Registration Act Cap 19:08, for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to delete person’s name from the Voters’ List because they did not collect their national identification cards. In light of the recent plethora of unqualified media releases emerging on the issue, GECOM, in the public’s interest, should urgently clear the air regarding the status of the certainly challengeable or misleading reports.

The existing situation regarding Mr Alexander’s proposal to remove approximately 20,000 names of registered persons from the Preliminary List of Electors who have not uplifted their identification cards from GECOM is indeed farcical. It is only another ploy by the PNC Commissioners to make another false alarm, interrupt and misdirect the smooth flow of GECOM work schedule.

Such removals seek to expel and disenfranchise registered voters from exercising their rights to determine a government of their choice. It is also an outright affront to the recent ruling of the learned Chief Justice Madam Roxane George, that it is illegal for GECOM to remove registered persons from the register in such arbitral manner. This is indeed consistent with Section 26 of Cap 19:08, which specifies the conditions by which the Registration Officer can cancel a registered person under the Act.

Further, there is a precedence in the numerous elections conducted by GECOM where persons have voted without presenting the physical voter’s identification cards. In fact, everyone who has voted in Guyana knows that GECOM previously accepted other forms of identification for voting. This is because the Presiding Officer and other political representative polling day staff are provided with access to the registered photographic image in a ‘Folio Manual’, which is used to make comparisons in every instance.

GECOM should have a record from its database of all the undistributed ID cards. According to the address range, these respective ID cards must be at the twenty-nine permanent offices around the country. Of course, there are many reasons why a person may not have uplifted the card, including previous delays between application and issue dates.

When persons apply for replacements of ID cards, GECOM staff must have a system to check and see if they have the card, which was not distributed. It is therefore very necessary that GECOM must make a genuine effort to distribute the ID cards, even if it requires sending notices to the registered places of residence.

Further, there are persons who would have legitimately left the country for various reasons other than outright migration, who have every intention of returning to vote and would need to have their ID cards. It is very wrong for them to be denied while the cards, in some instances, were not made available during their period of waiting prior to departure. It is also unfair for persons who fall into this category to be put in a situation of having to comply with additional stringent and costly undertakings to pick up the cards at a particular time when this approach was not applied in a uniform way.

No sensible person would believe that GECOM would capriciously delete their name from the Voters’ List because they did not uplift their ID card. It is also normal for GECOM to distribute ID cards on Elections Day. If a voter has to collect his ID card on the morning of the elections or close to Election Day, it will help GECOM ascertain that his name is on the list and should be made available.

The PNC Commissioner who suggested that voters name must be removed from the Voters’ List because his or her identification card is in the possession of GECOM is a confusion monger who is advocating a recipe for riot. GECOM must stop accommodating all these provocative tantrums, and get down to the business of putting system in place for the holding free, fair and transparent elections. GECOM must be transparent and fully accountable in its effort to improve credibility and win confidence and trust in all aspects of its work. GECOM staff must, therefore, win the heart of the Nation!

It is for Justice Claudette Singh to surround herself with imminent trustworthy personalities, international specialists with no conflicting interests, men and women of integrity to confirm rational counterchecks that would aid her pursuit of following the Rule of Law, and the Constitution of Guyana as she promised. In this period of inelastic tensions, it is also of utmost importance that the GECOM Chair makes available a press release or avail herself for an interview after every statutory meeting to appraise the public of the decisions and actions taken at such meetings.

It is clear that the PNC Commissioners and clandestine elements in the Secretariat are consistently spewing the public with inaccurate and untruthful information, which could lead to public dissatisfaction and confusion. GECOM Chair Justice Claudette Singh has to be assertive in making and implementing rational decisions to which she would be responsible and accountable, in the best interest of nation and for the conduct of free, fair and acceptable elections.

It is time for GECOM to stop making a mountain out of a molehill!

Sincerely,
Neil Kumar