GECOM Chair likely to change position on uncollected IDs
Following mounting pressure from the Political Opposition, business community and civil society, Chairman the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM), Justice (rtd) Claudette Singh is likely to change her position on a controversial decision to strike off persons from the voters’ list who have not collected their National Identification Cards since 2008.
A source told this newspaper that GECOM will have to put systems in place to allow persons who have not collected their ID cards to vote on elections day provided they take along additional identification.
According to the source, there is an Order that seems to suggest that the Commission will move in this direction so as not to disenfranchise thousands of persons, which could be a basis for legal challenges to the outcome of the elections.
Last week Tuesday, it was announced at the conclusion of the Commission’s weekly statutory meeting that Justice Singh decided to give persons 21 days to collect their ID cards. It was stated that if they do not collect their ID cards, they will not be put on the Official List of Electors. These persons will, however, remain in the registration database. It is estimated that this decision affects as many as 25,000 voters.
Since then, there has been mounting pressure from various sections of the society, including the Opposition-nominated members of the Commission themselves, to have the decision reversed.
Opposition-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj had mentioned that they are exploring a number of options should GECOM go ahead with the controversial decision.
“Much to the disagreement of myself and colleagues, the Chairman is insisting on publishing the names of those who have not collected their ID cards and what is now made very clear, is that persons who may have registered as late as last year or during the previous Claims and Objections period and did not collect their ID cards, also stand at risk of being removed from the list,” Gunraj had said following the meeting.
He added that the situation is “very disconcerting because persons will be disenfranchised by this move… apparently, it is slated for this weekend. As we speak, I am determining what routes can be taken. And there are several options available to us”.
Gunraj and Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander had related that the Commission also met with newly-formed political party A New and United Guyana (ANUG). It was explained that at that meeting, ANUG also expressed reservations about GECOM’s plan. According to Alexander, however, GECOM will be writing to over 20,000 persons to collect their ID cards.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Guyana (FITUG) on Tuesday said that the decision has very serious implications for Guyana’s democracy.
“While the Chairperson has committed to ensuring that those in question will be contacted through several means, there is really no guarantee that the information will reach them in time or even reach them at all”.
The decision to strike out these eligible, registered, voters, thus, denying them the opportunity to cast their vote in the upcoming elections, the Trade Union added, appears, is contrary to the legislation covering the conduct of elections and registration of voters.
The Union referenced the decision of acting Chief Justice Roxane George, who only recently ruled that persons could not be barred from voting unless they failed to meet specific criteria. No mention was made of voters without ID cards being unable to vote.
