The main partner in the governing APNU+AFC coalition, the PNCR today maintained that house-to-house registration is crucial for credible elections and there will be no compromise on it.
This position was restated by the party today at a press conference. Critics have said that the insistence by APNU+AFC on house-to-house registration is a ploy to further delay elections which should have been held by the end of March this year. Political analysts say the coalition’s relatively poor showing at the November, 2018 local government elections had made it wary of early elections.
The orders to be handed down by the Caribbean Court of Justice on July 12 following the upholding of the December 21, 2018 motion of no confidence are likely to make it clear whether house-to-house registration should be proceeded with.
An abridged statement by the PNCR follows:
The PNCR is adamant that for there to be credible elections there must be house-to-house registration
In his address to the nation on June 18, 2019, our Leader and President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, His Excellency David Granger, provided clarity on the way forward for the people of Guyana. He said, “It is now clear that the Guyanese people need certainty about the future and a way forward. I want to outline a clear path. It is essential that we hold fair, free and credible elections. We cannot proceed on the current list of voters. It is outdated and corrupted. It may hold as many as 200,000 incorrect entries. What’s more, those who have reached the age of 18 years since the last election are not on it. The Constitution entitles all citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote. It is a democratic imperative that house-to-house registration be completed swiftly so we can have an election at the earliest opportunity.”
In the current political climate, it would be fair to ask – Why is the PPP so afraid of having a clean voters list and credible elections?
It should be noted that it was under Bharrat Jagdeo’s presidency that the National Registration Act was amended by the “National Registration (Amendment) Act 2007” to ensure house-to-house registration. That amendment amended the principal Act and inserted the following: “(aa) every registration officer shall, either by himself or an authorized officer, by house to house visits within the registration division or sub-division assigned to him, obtain as far as practicable the application for registration of every person, who is on the appointed date of the age of fourteen years or above for the purpose of ascertaining every person qualified for registration to have his name included in the National Register of Registrants.” It further states that, “(1) The Commissioner shall establish a central register which shall consist of a computerized database of the information of the originals of the registration records and the originals of all persons registered under the house to house registration process mentioned in section 6, and the data so generated shall be utilized to effect the continuous registration process.”
The foregoing establishes clearly that for elections to be credible in Guyana, there is need for house-to-house registration. The PNCR is adamant that for there to be credible elections there must be credible house-to-house registration.
There are facts about the current voters list that cannot be disputed. It is true that the names of dead people are on the list. It is true that the names of missing or non-existent people are on the list. It is true that the list does not have the names of thousands of young people who recently became 18.
