Get Your Documents Ready – GECOM

CITIZENS countrywide must begin to take note of the legal and procedural requirements of house-to-house registration which is on track to commence next month, according to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

On Sunday, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward, told of the source documents which will be needed for the exercise as well as the consequences awaiting those harbouring fraudulent intentions.

Getting straight to the point, the PRO stated that even if a person has been previously registered he/she will need to do so again, along with first-time registrants.

Each eligible person must present either a birth certificate, a valid passport, an adoption certificate or a naturalization certificate/certificate of registration.

Married women may also be asked to present their marriage certificate while individuals who have had a name change, which is not represented on their birth certificate, must present the certificate along with a deed poll.

Ward emphasized that all documents presented must be the originals and not photocopies.
“Without a source document you cannot be registered and that’s an original source document,” Ward said.

“What we want to get people to understand from now, as this exercise will start in June, if you don’t have your source document because, for example, you lost your birth certificate; or you can’t find your deed poll or your adoption certificate, go get your documents now so that when the exercise starts you’re in a position to be registered.”

She recommended that as the time narrows down, citizens place these documents safe and at their hand reach for easy access when enumerators pass by.

Ward also provided an answer to the commonly asked question of whether the National Identification (ID) Card can be used as source document.

She indicated that the law does not provide for such.

“You cannot use an ID card to be registered,” she stressed, further explaining:
“GECOM is guided by what the law says and registration in itself is guided by the National Registration Act Chapter 19:08. That law specifically states what those source documents are and there is no [provision] for an ID card.”

Questioned on what occurs in cases where GECOM’s officials visit a residence and the individuals or their documents are absent, the PRO stated that the Commission allows for a re-visitation to the area.

In the case of absent documents, she stated: “We can revisit. The enumerators will make a note and they will say to the person ‘you need to go get whatever document’ and the enumerators will visit periodically to ensure those persons have the documents to do the registration. We will continue following up with that person to see when they actually get the documents so we can do the registration.”

Ward then pinpointed the fact that a resident cannot and will not be registered without being physically present along with his/her documents.

“Nobody can do a registration for anybody, you have to be there to do your registration yourself,” she said.

Getting into the matter of legal consequences persons can face for attempting to register on behalf of another person, the PRO presented a scenario.

She stated the hypothetical case of a parent using another relative to be registered in the place of her son along with his documents because her son is out of town at the time.
“That is an offence by law and persons can be charged, imprisoned and fined for that…we can easily pick up two finger prints that are the same or duplicated in the system so somebody who thinks they can register in Georgetown and then they’ll go to Berbice and register again, it cannot happen. It won’t be allowed to pass the system because the biometric verification system we have will flag double finger prints,” she said.

Should enumerators find someone guilty of fraudulent activity Ward stated that they will be reported and the necessary measures will be taken according to law.

Prior to the holding of elections, as has been the case in the past, there will be a Claims and Objections period for persons away from their residence at the time of the exercise to be placed on the registration list.

Very soon the PRO will be launching a social media, radio, television and newspaper audio/visual campaign to inform citizens of the legal and procedural requirements of house-to-house registration.

Meanwhile, Ward reiterated the need for citizens to take responsibility for getting themselves prepared for the June commencement of house-to-house registration especially if they are currently facing challenges with access to source documents.

“It’s possible there are challenges but GECOM is not the responsible agency to issue birth certificates [and the likes]. It is the responsibility of the individual and the agency with that responsibility to ensure that they provide that service and people access the service,” she said.

On February 19, 2019 GECOM decided, by way of vote, that house-to-house registration, as budgeted for 2019, would commence immediately.

Since then, countrywide training of enumerators and Assistant Registration Officers (ARO) has rolled out in preparation for the exercise which will create a new list of registrants eligible to vote at the upcoming General and Regional Elections.

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