PPP says its once again disappointed with GECOM Secretariat

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), in a statement, stated that the Party “…is once again disappointed with the modus operandi of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Secretariat.”

According to the PPP, “The Secretariat continues to mislead the Guyanese electorate with erroneous statements emanating from its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward.”

Notably, “The PPP notes with concern the most recent statement issued by the Public Relations Officer asking persons to check their names on the house-to-house registrants’ list, which was posted over the weekend – a compilation of data from a process that was scrapped. GECOM is essentially telling 300,000-plus Guyanese to visit the GECOM offices. Many of these persons have already checked their names on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) and are now being told to return to verify their particulars.”

As a result, “The People’s Progressive Party calls on GECOM to immediately withdraw the house-to-house registrants’ list and continue with the ongoing Claims and Objections Exercise.”

Below is the full statement from the PPP:
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is once again disappointed with the modus operandi of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Secretariat.

The Secretariat continues to mislead the Guyanese electorate with erroneous statements emanating from its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward. It would appear that there is a deliberate attempt to frustrate the electorate.

The PPP notes with concern the most recent statement issued by the Public Relations Officer asking persons to check their names on the house-to-house registrants’ list, which was posted over the weekend – a compilation of data from a process that was scrapped. GECOM is essentially telling 300,000-plus Guyanese to visit the GECOM offices. Many of these persons have already checked their names on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) and are now being told to return to verify their particulars.

This statement was issued while the Commission was still meeting during its weekly statutory engagement. The trend – as evidenced by action after action – seems to demonstrate a determination of the GECOM Secretariat to act contrary to the Commission’s decision and issue statements not approved by the GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh.

The house-to-house registrants’ list published by GECOM is replete with errors, confirming our suspicions about the process from its inception. There are thousands of names duplicated on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) and thousands of persons who are under the voting age of 18. Our investigations would have found too, that dozens of persons listed as New Registrants cannot be found at the addresses listed and this is a serious cause for concern – fueling the worry that there are many non-existent persons on the list published by GECOM.

Further, the house-to-house registrants’ list is not a supplementary list to the PLE and cannot be used during a Claims and Objections exercise. There is no provision in the laws of Guyana to authorize the publication of a duplicate list that does not originate from the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB) – that is to say that the house-to-house registrants’ list has no place in our legal architecture.

The latest development strengthens the PPP’s position that the house-to-house registration was flawed and any attempt to merge the data from that process with the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB) will contaminate and compromise the database.

The People’s Progressive Party calls on GECOM to immediately withdraw the house-to-house registrants’ list and continue with the ongoing Claims and Objections Exercise.