The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is currently only issuing identification (ID) cards to first-time voters, according to its Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward, who says plans are in train to upgrade cards after the upcoming March 2nd polls.
Ward told Stabroek News that the issuance of new ID cards is being limited to first-time voters because of the unavailability of materials that GECOM uses to produce them as well as its plans for upgrades.
Told of a complaint made by Christopher Haynes, who said that GECOM officials are giving him false information in relation to a replacement ID card he applied for since last November, Ward stated that only the ID cards of the first-time voters are being distributed.
As a result, new registrants who are not eligible to vote along with persons who have applied for a replacement will not be given ID cards until after elections.
Haynes had contacted Stabroek News and disclosed that he applied for a replacement card in November and was told by a GECOM official that he would have to return the following week to collect it. Haynes stated that he returned but was told it was not available and kept returning to the place he registered at week after week.
Earlier this month, he said, he got fed up of going to the registration office in his area and decided to call the head office. He said that the first time he called, he was told that he will get his ID card in a week’s time and when he didn’t, he called again and was told that GECOM is not doing any replacement. However, this week, he was told that he would get his ID card next week.
