Opposition-appointed Commissioners on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Vincent Alexander and Desmond Trotman yesterday said that they are withholding their support for the upcoming local government elections citing a number of reasons.
The decision was communicated to GECOM Chair retired Justice Claudette Singh at yesterday’s statutory meeting.
According to Alexander, the reasons proffered were GECOM’s refusal to review its operations after the 2020 elections. They are of the view that a review would have better-equipped GECOM to streamline its systems for the holding of elections. He said that the refusal of the Commission to proceed with the use of fingerprints at the place of poll for voter identification coupled with the setting aside of their second motion on biometrics also influenced their non-support.
“Plans are proceeding for elections in the shadow of electoral reform that might take effect before the elections, although GECOM’s plan has not anticipated or catered for the government’s proposed reform,” Alexander 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 a result, the Chair wrote to the government informing them of the situation but did commit to confirming a timeline after the appointment of a CEO.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall recently wrote to Justice Singh naming March 13, 2023, as the date for LGE. His letter came following the advice of the Commission. Additionally, some $2.9 Billion has been allocated to GECOM for preparatory works to ensure the successful planning and execution of LGE.
The opposition has been consistently calling for the introduction of biometrics in the electoral landscape of Guyana but there has not been any consensus at the level of the commission. Additionally, they have called for the Commission to review its system following the March 2020 elections.
However, GECOM is maintaining that the responsibility to investigate allegations of electoral fraud and review of any electoral system falls within the jurisdiction of a competent Elections Court. In this regard, GECOM has reminded that Article 163 (1) b (i) of the Constitution of Guyana stipulates that “subject to the provisions of this article, the High Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine any question whether – either generally or in any particular place, an election has been lawfully conducted or the result thereof has been or might have been, affected by any unlawful act or omission.”
Yesterday, Alexander said that though there is a work plan for LGE, it has not yet been approved by the Commission. He said that CEO Vishnu Persaud still has to revise the plan to ensure that the elections can be held within the remit of the law.
Alexander further stated that his Opposition colleague Charles Corbin also raised concerns about the recently concluded claims and objection exercise.
“Commissioner Corbin raised the point that claims and objections under local government elections is different. In this case, we can apply the concept of residency which cannot be done in national elections. So we need to sort through that because the list may have someone not living in the local authority that they are registered to vote in,” he said.
GECOM embarked on a continuous registration process back in March, particularly targeting new applicants. The continuous registration cycle concluded on May 29, 2022, with over 49,000 persons being registered for the first time. A total of 70,041 transactions were conducted during the period. 28,149 were new registrants between the ages of 14 and 17, while 21,130 were new registrants above the age of 18. Additionally, 4,629 persons applied for transfers, 6,526 persons changed or corrected their information, 7,667 applied for replacement identification cards and 1,940 registrants retook their ID photos.
Late last month, the commission also concluded its claims and objections programme in preparation for the elections.
