Guyana Police Force stands by migration data provided to GECOM

The Guyana Police Force says its stands by migration information recently provided by the force to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The police issued a statement on Tuesday in response to an article which was published in the Kaieteur News earlier on the day, under the Caption “Top Cop gives False Information to Claudette Singh”.

“The Administration of the Force iterates that Migration Data produce by the Immigration Department of the Guyana Police Force is generated through its Record system which includes an Electronic Border Management System,” the police force said.

It noted however, that the system does not record persons who travelled illegally.

Commissioner of Police Leslie James in a letter to the GECOM earlier this week,confirmed that 172 persons from a list of 207 were not in Guyana when the General and Regional Elections were held on March 2,2020.

In response to claims by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) that persons voted in the place of migrants, the Chair of the Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, in a letter on May 22, requested immigration records from the Police Commissioner as the Chief Immigration Officer. The names of 207 individuals were provided to the police commissioner based on a list submitted by APNU+AFC, and according to GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward, a response was received on May 27, 2020.