Over 150,000 persons registered so far
Public Relations Officer of GECOM, Yolanda Ward
Public Relations Officer of GECOM, Yolanda Ward

– as GECOM expands teams for house-to-house registration

OVER 150,000 persons have been registered so far through the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)’s ongoing house-to-house registration process.

Since the process started on July 20, 2019, some persons have been cooperating while others, who were motivated by the political opposition, have been refusing to register and in some cases trying to disrupt the process.

Despite the challenges which the commission has faced, the process has continued and Public Relations Officer of GECOM, Yolanda Ward, said the registration exercise has been going well.

“Well so far yes we still have challenges in terms of persons refusing to register but persons who are getting registered have been going through the process smoothly,” said Ward during an invited comment on Wednesday.

She said at the end of last Saturday, the figure was at 116,000, but that has since climbed to 150,000. The response has increased despite the challenges, she said, adding that for the week there has been no significant report of GECOM officials being attacked or harassed.

GECOM had called on the Guyana Police Force to protect workers of the commission who were being attacked by residents of various communities.

Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon

The commission, in a press statement, had said it had engaged the police force to provide surveillance in communities and to assist with security of its field staff. Over the last few days, a number of enumerators were attacked and injured by dogs which were intentionally loosed by their owners. “They received dog bites which were instigated by residents who are allegedly not in agreement with the registration exercise,” said GECOM.

It was also reported that some persons are using threatening language, instilling fear and providing misinformation that the staff will not be paid for their service. Although that has been the case, GECOM has moved to increase its teams. Initially the process started with 1,000 teams in the field, but now they have increased that to 1,332 teams.
“That is going to be increased further… the initial plan was to have approximately 1,800 teams so we are gradually ramping-up those numbers to reach that anticipated amount,” said Ward.

Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, also said that the house-to-house registration process has accelerated although Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram, challenged the constitutionality of the process.

He challenged the process on the grounds that it is in violation of Article 106 (6) and Article 106 (7) of the Constitution, and the letter and spirit of the judgment and consequential orders of the CCJ in the consolidated appeals.

Ultimately, he wants the court to rule that the national registration exercise is illegal and of no effect. The Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire will hand down her decision in the matter on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 13:30hrs. It appears as though GECOM is also awaiting the ruling to move forward, since it has set its next statutory meeting for August 15.

“Depending on what information is given to the chief justice she will take whatever steps are necessary…we respect that there is a hierarchy of courts, but we trust that we will not have to go all the way,” said Harmon during a post cabinet press briefing on Wednesday.
He believes that house-to-house registration is important because it will ensure that there is a clean Official List of Electors (OLE). GECOM said the countrywide exercise is in keeping with a decision of the commission on February 19, 2019 and in accordance with Order No. 25 of 2019 dated June 11, 2019.

“Registration is a legal requirement according to the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08 and therefore all eligible persons are mandated to register. House-to-house registration is a new registration exercise and therefore all eligible persons must register, even if they were previously registered,” GECOM asserted.

According to the commission, upon conclusion of this exercise, a new National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB) which is reflective of the current Guyanese population will be created. Subsequently, the OLE will be extracted for the purpose of conducting General and Regional Elections.

“Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, naturalisation or registration, 14 years and older by October 31, 2019 or a citizen of a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for a period of no less than one year preceding the qualifying date, are all eligible for registration,” GECOM stated. It has urged residents to have the relevant documents required for registration ready and be on the lookout for GECOM’s Registration Officials in their area.

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