The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is appealing to over 40,000 registrants to collect their national Identification Cards.
Although more than 475,000 persons are eligible to vote at the November 28, 2011 elections, as of October 15, 43,424 persons are yet to uplift their cards. The figure represents persons registered during the 2008 national house to house registration (24,487), the 2010 claims and objections process for the aborted local government elections (1,051), the 2010 continuous registration exercise (4,591), this year’s claims and objections exercises (10,088) and others who would have sought card replacements or changes (3,207).
GECOM’s distribution of ID cards continues across Guyana from respective registration offices until Friday November 25, three days before Election Day.
GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally noted yesterday that the registrants on the Official List of Electors do not necessarily need the ID cards to vote. GECOM has previously said if registrants do not have valid ID cards or passports, once they are registered and turn up to vote at their respective polling station, the presiding officer there could check the folio for their names and particulars, including photograph, and allow them to vote.
GECOM said last month that it had taken the decision to decommission all National Identification Cards issued before October 2009. The effective date of the decommissioning is November 1, 2011. Consequently, it said, all ID cards issued before October, 2009 will not be accepted as a means of identification for voting at the upcoming elections.
