GECOM’sChairwoman’s illegal, confusing directives

Dear Editor,
The Chairman of GECOM is again in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. She is once again in an illegal mode and that is in connection with the removal of over 21,000 names from the OLE. This entire debacle stems from a proposal made by PNC Commissioners at the elections commission. They are of the view since these persons have not uplifted their ID Cards since 2008, then, there is no proof of their existence hence their names should be removed from the list. This in essence means that they have forfeited their rights to vote.

Again this is advice coming from the PNC Commissioners at the secretariat, persons to whom the chairwoman is closely associated and persons from whom all her advice flows. Very interesting indeed for a former judge, who instead of looking at the legal basis on which to make her decisions are wholly dependent on the whims and fancies of the Government, party controlled commissioners.

In this regard, this latest decision of hers is politically motivated and has all the hallmarks of partisanship. Now, the chairwoman could be ever so wrong because there is no connection between one’s inability to uplift an ID Card and the right to vote. There is no legal basis on which she can substantiate that decision, because having an ID Card and the right to vote is a non-issue, people vote with their passports which is a known fact so what’s the problem?

Is she deliberately creating a problem where there is none? Justice Singh fully well knows how sacred and how important Guyanese value their passports and as such an important event as a general election most people take pride of place, would see many turning up with their passports to vote this coming general election. This general election is a major issue on our calendar of events.

The problem with the PNC Commissioners is that they would like to see who those 21,000 persons are and why they did not uplift their ID Cards.

Clearly, this is not GECOM’s work, and represents another manifestation of an illegal act, hence must be condemned for all its worth. GECOM has no legal right to track down and harass a registrant, that is not their role, that is not their mandate.  They are totally out of place on this one.

Secondly, that order for those potential voters to visit the elections commission stations to verify their status, that in itself is another illegal act on their part. What that coercive edict seeks to satisfy or fulfill is to further filter back personal and sensitive information to the PNC Commissioners which would aid them in their manipulation of the data base and perfect their rigging machinery. That’s their aim, that’s their motive, and that illegality must stop now!

The abuse of a statutory process wherein a person is denied the legal right to vote must not be tampered with and this is the ongoing fight we have with the PNC controlled side and the chairwoman of the elections commission. She somehow seems not to understand what the real motive of these government appointees. Retired, Justice Claudette Singh who is supposed to be a legal person seems to be bowing to pressure and is partisan in her approach to these decisions. This is unacceptable behaviour and we are not going to sit idly by and accept it.

Respectfully,
Neil  Adams