The latest manifestation of the desperation within the APNU/AFC coalition camp is the effort by the Government-nominated Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioners to either disenfranchise eligible Guyanese voters or prepare the ground to invalidate the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.
This is according to Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, during a news conference on Wednesday (October 30, 2019), where he referred to the recent decisions made by GECOM.
At a prior meeting of GECOM, the Government-nominated Commissioners pushed to have some 28,000 Guyanese voters removed from the Voters’ List once it is compiled. The grounds being used for such a call is that these persons were registered as voters in 2008 but have not uplifted their national identification (ID) cards.
At Tuesday’s (October 29, 2019) statutory meeting, the GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, voted with the three Government-nominated Commissioners on this matter. As such, the thousands of persons who did not uplift their identification cards will have 21 days to do so or be removed from the Official List of Electors (OLE). However, these persons will remain on the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB). “This is patently illegal,” Jagdeo declared.
He noted the defence of the decision that was mounted by Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander, who, in a report by the State-controlled Guyana Chronicle, said: “It’s like an objection. So, the issue is not the ID card, the issue is that these persons, since 2008 and beyond 2008 have not, in any way, presented themselves to be present; to be known; to be alive; to be existing; to be resident. And, in calling them, writing to them, gives us the opportunity to make a determination”. According to Jagdeo, the Objections period in the ongoing Claims and Objections exercise could be used but this is not being done. “So far, they have filed less than 100 objections….they want to remove names through backdoor processes, rather than go through the statutory process that is Objections….it is a backdoor, illegal way of addressing the issue,” the Opposition Leader said.
Jagdeo noted too the State-controlled Guyana Chronicle also reported that: “Corbin also informed the media that the names of these individuals will not be removed from the National Registrar of Registrants (NRR) stating, ‘It would only mean that if these persons exist, they may miss this round of elections’”. According to him, elections in Guyana are governed by laws and the Constitution, not by whims. He referred to the fact that if a voter in the hinterland or in the Pomeroon Region, for example, is unable to uplift an identification card – having been able to vote at previous elections – that person cannot be whimsically removed from the Voters’ List.
ID cards not voter ID cards
Jagdeo stressed that the national identification cards are not voter identification cards. “These are national ID cards. They are not voter ID cards…you don’t need them to vote…in the past, these cards were issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Then it was decided that GECOM should perform that function for the State, since it was now responsible for registration…to link the two – collect an ID card to the right to vote – is an affront to all Guyanese,” he said.
Referring to the Constitution of Guyana, he stressed that Article 59 is clear on the rights of Guyanese voters.
Article 59 states: “Subject to the provisions of article 159, every person may vote at an election if he is of the age of eighteen years or upwards and is either a citizen of Guyana or a Commonwealth citizen domiciled and resident in Guyana”.
Jagdeo said, “The only requirement to vote is Guyanese 18 and above…nowhere does it mention ID card…they cannot remove people from the Official List of Electors capriciously…it would be an illegal act for them to remove names from the list just because they did not pick up ID cards”.
Addressed before
The Leader pointed out that the issue of uncollected national identification cards was addressed by the former GECOM Chairperson, Dr Steve Surujbally.
In June 2011, Surujbally stated there were some 43,187 identification cards still to be collected. However, he stressed that these are not voting cards and pointed out that the constitutional requirement to vote is to be registered, not necessarily to be in possession of an identification card.
Jagdeo said, “This matter was dealt with in the past by GECOM….at that time, it was over 43,000 and those people did not lose their right to vote”.
Further, he cited paragraph 129 of the recent ruling by the acting Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire, in the case challenging the constitutionality of the now scrapped House-to-House Registration. George-Wiltshire ruled that: “The right to be registered to vote and the right to vote are sacrosanct and fundamental. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Guyana has acceded and which is incorporated into our Constitution, (see art 154A (1) and the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution) establishes the right to vote as a matter of international human rights law and provides that every citizen has a right to vote”.
Explanation must be given
Also, he underscored the fact that the George-Wiltshire referred to a ruling handed down by the current GECOM Chairperson when she was a High Court Judge in the case of Esther Perreira v The Chief Elections Officer and others.
George-Wiltshire noted that Singh ruled that: “It is axiomatic that no right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined….it becomes clear then, that any prohibition, restriction or limitation on the right to vote must be viewed with a close and critical eye since any such encroachment would be a bar to that voter’s right to have a voice in the elections of his representatives in government”.
The Opposition Leader stressed that the law is clear. As such, he made clear that the current GECOM Chairperson must explain her decision. “Because of the law, as well as her own ruling, her decision now cannot be explained. She needs to answer why she sided in a process that will disenfranchise thousands of Guyanese and would be illegal….I don’t understand how this decision will ever stand…this is not going to stand…we must not allow it to succeed,” he said.
The Opposition Leader assured that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) will remain vigilant to ensure that there is no rigging of the upcoming elections and that no action is taken that could be grounds to invalidate elections.
