Acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire SC this afternoon ruled that the house-to-house (HtH) registration exercise presently underway is not unconstitutional and it is not for the court to determine if it should be conducted but it is for GECOM to decide this while acting in line with the constitution.
House-to-house registration she said was a measure that was available to GECOM.
She was ruling today in the challenge by Christopher Ram to the ongoing house-to-house registration exercise.
As the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled on June 18, Justice George emphasised that it was not for her court to set a date for elections. This is the task of the various stakeholders.
Justice George’s ruling would mean that tomorrow’s first full meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) under new Chairman Claudette Singh is even more important as it will likely take a decision on whether general elections should proceed with or without the controversial HtH.
HtH will develop a new register but Justice George cautioned today that the removal of names from the list would be unconstitutional unless said persons are deceased or otherwise disqualified under Article 159 (2) (3) or (4). This is important as the opposition has argued that HtH will disenfranchise persons.
In his fixed date application, Ram’s attorneys had asked the court to declare that the registration exercise is in violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution and the judgment and consequential orders made by the CCJ in the consolidated cases stemming from the passage of a no-confidence motion against government last December.
The application argued that since passage of the motion against the David Granger-led administration, neither the Cabinet nor President has resigned; nor has the Head of State issued a proclamation dissolving the National Assembly or fixed a date for elections to be held within the three months as is stipulated by Article 106 of the Constitution.
