COMMISSIONERS of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), in the absence of a ruling from the Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang, decided that certificates of employment which would allow voting by its holders outside of where they are registered, will continue to be issued to the routine group of Election Day staffers as was done in past elections.The issuance of Certificates of Employment, was raised as a concern by the political Opposition, which contends that the certificates should be issued to a wider class.As such, an originating summons was filed by Senior Counsel Ashton Chase. However,Chang determined that the final decision should be made by GECOM.
Meanwhile, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that no one has applied for a certificate of employment to date. “We have no application from any of the eligible Election Day staff,” he said.
The Commission’s legal officer, Ms. Juanita Barker, in an earlier comment told the Guyana Chronicle that the court was approached for a definitive pronouncement, given the call for the certificates to be issued to a wide cross-section of E-Day staffers.
She said, “We are seeking an interpretation of article 162:1B of the Representation of the People’s Act. It would determine whether GECOM has authority to issue Certificates of Employment outside of what is stated in the law.
Currently, the law states that Certificates of Employment can be issued to election officials only – meaning the Chief Elections Officer, the Deputy Chief Elections Officer, the Returning Officers, the Deputy Returning Officers, Election Clerks, Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers and poll clerks. Members of the disciplined services who are working on Election Day are also issued with Certificates of Employment.(Vanessa Narine)