Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman have proposed that an internal investigation be launched into the events of the March 2020 general and regional elections.
The proposal was submitted on Tuesday when the Commission met.
Alexander told Stabroek News yesterday that the proposals form part of their contribution to the proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA) which was on Tuesday’s agenda to be discussed.
“We dealt with some administrative issues and that took up much of the time but the substantive issues were not discussed. We had on the agenda RoPA but I made a submission and the Commissioners were given time to look at it and next week we would discuss,” he said.
The Commission has to decide how it would treat the proposed amendments to RoPA the government released as part of the electoral reform process. Among other things, the government introduced hefty fines and lengthy prison time as part of the amendments which are currently in the public feedback stage.
“GECOM is in no position to objectively contribute to the process of amending RoPA in the absence of an internal investigation of the 2020 elections to determine what are the manifested weaknesses of its system and operations,” the opposition-nominated Commissioners said in their proposal to the Commission.
Additionally, they called for the cleansing of the voters` list noting that it has been a persistent demand of major stakeholders and should be addressed.
“In that regard, the judgment in relation to House-to-House Registration should be clarified from the standpoint of its applicability to the voters` list as distinct from the Register of Registrants. In like manner, relatedly or separately, the relevance and application of Regulation 40 of the National Registration Act should be determined,” the proposal added.
The trio further stated that a mechanism to provide for the cleansing of the voters` list has to be integral to any amendment of the electoral laws. They added that the mere fact that there is no mechanism to ensure that a registrant who dies overseas can be removed from the voters` list is sufficient reason to warrant such a mechanism.
When the Commission meets again it would discuss the way forward in relation to the RoPA amendments and the suggestions put forward by the Opposition Commissioners.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira had told Stabroek News that the government is still awaiting GECOM’s and the major political parties’ submissions. She added that the amendments to RoPA cannot go ahead until the government has finished drafting amendments to the National Registration Act.
When he was sworn in on August 2, 2020, President Irfaan Ali had promised an investigation of the events which triggered the five-month impasse around the elections results. That investigation is still to be launched.
LGE
Alexander also told Stabroek News that Chief Election Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud has reported that he is working on a plan for the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE) and would submit same following its completion.
“The CEO reported that he is working on a plan but I cannot say when he would be completed with that,” he said.
Local Government Elections were constitutionally due at the end of last year but GECOM was without a Chief Election Officer and could not have prepared to host the elections. As such, the Chair, retired Justice Claudette Singh wrote to the government informing of such but did commit to confirming a timeline after the appointment of a CEO.
In the 2021 budget, the government allocated $1.1 billion for the holding of LGE before the end of the year. Some $237.7 million was scheduled to go towards the printing of 500,000 ballots and other materials, while $285.7 million was budgeted for voter education and other programmes. Additionally, $135.7 million was to go towards the training of elections day staff, $81.6 million for rental of buildings to conduct the elections and $75.6 million for meals.
In the 2022 estimates, which are yet to be approved by the House, GECOM is slated to receive an allocation of $4.1 billion.
