…on GECOM
Vincent Alexander, PNC Commissioner in GECOM, claimed that in a country where the population is 750,000, it’s impossible for the voters’ list – meaning persons over 18 years old – to be 573,923 persons. He claimed the “bloating” was 200,000 persons. This “bloating” business had come up before and had been tested before by no other than a previous PNC Commissioner, the mathematically-minded Haslyn Parris, and found to be wanting. And that’s why CEO Lowenfield confessed he hadn’t given any such number to the PNC! But we know it was just another “thing” to keep the big, bad wolf of elections from the PNC’s door, didn’t we?
Now before we proceed, we have to clear up some underbrush on this “bloated” voters business. After the 2001 elections, it was decided to institute “cycles of continuous registration” to “sanitise” and update the lists. The 1st cycle of continuous registration was completed in preparation for the 2006 general elections. Whenever GECOM is asked to prepare a voters’ list for an election, they would be able to spew out all names of persons over 18.
At that time to address PNC concerns about the integrity of the voters’ list after the 2006 elections, the political parties decided on a new H2H Registration exercise to stop this bitching and moaning once and for all. They enacted legislation to permit this and we had the 2008 H2H. As a GECOM document records, “The Commission, consequent upon the conclusion of House-to-House Registration on July 4, 2008, immediately commenced planning for the implementation of the 2nd cycle of continuous registration in 2009. This would provide the opportunity for persons 14 years and over who were not registered during House-to-House Registration to apply for registration”.
“This proposed 2nd cycle of the continuous registration process and consecutive cycles, would become a routine process for updating/sanitising the National Register of Registrants Database during the years running up to the next General and Regional Elections due in 2011, ***and thereafter***”. At no time was there talk of another H2H Registration. Your Eyewitness doesn’t know how Vincent Alexander could claim that in 2012, there was an agreement that there should be H2H exercises “every seven years”. Where did he get that from??
Even if it was so decided by the two parties, there was always the elephant in the room of which the Chief Justice took “judicial notice”: H2H cannot strike off from the NRR citizens who’ve migrated or are outside the jurisdiction purely from the fact that they aren’t at the location they’d registered at before.
That’d be introducing a residency requirement to vote…it ain’t constitutional. We know the new GECOM Chair isn’t on the BENCH any longer, but still…
…on city fence
The PNC used to blame the PPP for whatever ails the City – even when folks dropped banana peels on the sidewalks of Georgetown! They screamed bloody hell about crime around Stabroek Market and the clogged drains etc. Your Eyewitness used to wonder what was the point of Municipal Elections – which always awarded the PNC into the Mayoral and every other chair in the MC&CC. They clearly seen as responsible for the eyesores and body sores – since they were never blamed.
But what do they say now, four years after the PPP’s been out of office?? The sleazy operations of the “Den of Iniquity”, that is, City Hall, were exposed in living colour by the Justice Kendall CoI. He not only pointed fingers at the guilty City officials who were responsible for the degradation of the City – but he named names! Yet, they’re all there…doing what they do best: twiddling their thumbs as they await the bribes!!
Just look at the latest outrage: “The Case of the Disappeared Chain Link Fence”.
The PPP dunnit?
…on elections date
In refusing to set a date for elections, the President’s hiding under the GECOM Chair’s skirt!! It ain’t manly!
Constitutionally, HE has to proclaim a date and she tells him the best she can do.