The Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) held a final working session with Registration Officers (ROs) from all of Guyana’s 23 registration areas for status reports on the overall state of preparedness for the start of house-to-house registration on Monday.
According to a Gecom press release, the exercise is expected to close on July 4. Gecom Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally emphasised the importance of efficient and accurate registration during the session held with ROs on Thursday.
He told them there was no room at the commission or its secretariat for persons who were unwilling to work as a part of the Gecom team, adding that the success of the 2006 elections was due to excellent teamwork.
Surujbally also told the ROs that they and all of the temporary staff hired to work under their supervision for the exercise, must conduct themselves with decorum. “You have an opportunity to take part in an historic event and you should ensure that you do so with pride and dignity” he said, while emphasizing the need for a timely completion of the exercise.
Commissioners Dr Keshav Mangal, Vincent Alexander, Mohamood Shaw and Deputy Mayor Robert Williams also attended the interactive session. The commissioners highlighted the need for strict adherence to legal and administrative provisions/principles/processes at all levels throughout the conduct of the exercise, to be held in the ten registration districts countrywide. Williams underscored the need for registration staff to exercise patience with potential registrants and to be knowledgeable and understanding of the complex environment in which the exercise is being conducted. Alexander too emphasized the importance of competence and integrity in the process while Mangal and Shaw stressed the need for accuracy of the data captured and accountability.
According to Gecom, the ROs submitted the status reports and gave the commissioners the assurance that they are ready and able to start the exercise. Several aspects relating to Operational Plans, Logistics, Civic and Voter Education, Security and Administrative and Financial matters were also discussed.
The exercise is being conducted to create an indisputable National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB) which could be used as the basis for the preparation of electoral lists that would be accepted by all stakeholders. In keeping with this, the government, Gecom and the parliamentary political parties agreed on June 14, to prepare a new NRRDB through a house-to-house registration exercise. GECOM therefore expects that the primary outcome of the exercise will be the creation of a “pure” and current NRRDB, which would be perpetually updated and purified through future cycles of continuous registration and their respective concomitant claims and objections exercises. “This would inevitably lead to the preparation of future electoral lists that would be commonly acceptable by and among all political parties and other stakeholders,” the release said.
About 3,000 temporary Gecom staff will be registered to start the exercise. Gecom said an announcement would be made when the various teams are slated to visit specific areas before the said visits.