…GECOM commissioners to continue meeting on Friday
…chief elections officer made presentations on possible scenarios

OFFICIALS of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) have started discussions on the way forward after analysing and discussing the ruling on the legality of GECOM’s house-to-house registration exercise.

“We have started the discussions on the way forward, but it is incomplete,” said Government-appointed GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, in an invited comment following a three-hour long meeting between commissioners and Chairperson of GECOM, Retired Justice, Claudette Singh, on Wednesday.

Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire had ruled that the ongoing house-to-house registration being undertaken by GECOM is within the confines of the Constitution and is therefore legal. The Acting Chief Justice delivered her judgement in a case challenging the constitutionality of house-to-house registration brought before the High Court by Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, in which GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield and Attorney-General Basil Williams were the named respondents.

When asked what aspects of the ruling were discussed, Alexander said there is only one aspect of the ruling to be discussed and that is the question of the role of the house-to-house registration. The GECOM commissioner said the Chief Justice ruled that there should be an alternative to the use of what comes out of the house-to-house registration. He further explained that the ruling stated that the house-to-house registration should be used for verification rather than for a deletion of names from the list.

Asked about his position on the house-to-house registration process, Alexander said at the end of the day, the Official List of Electors (OLE) must be sanitised. “That is the objective by whatever means house-to-house has been the means which I have identified and I am sticking to that in the absence of another suggestion,” said Alexander.

Although he said there was an absence of another suggestion, the commissioner said the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, made presentations on other possible scenarios which could be used. “I will say that we have in fact asked the CEO for further clarification on the scenarios,” said Alexander, adding that house-to-house has not been thrown out.

Despite sticking with the idea of house-to-house, the commissioner agreed that there may be other methods of preparing for elections. He said among the other methods is “regulation 40,” which would have achieved the same objective as house-to-house registration.

Regulation 40, he said, provides for the Chief Immigration Officer to provide the Chief Registration Officer with information on people who have departed and returned to Guyana. This method then provides the Chief Registration Officer with the option of determining what is done with that information, in his/her deliberate judgement.

“I don’t think at this time, given the timeframe required for regulation 40, it is an option…it is not an option,” he said, adding that other workable options are, however, being explored.
In that regard, asked whether he is concerned about the future of the house-to-house registration process, Alexander said the GECOM chairperson has not shown her hand, so he has no basis to be worried. He said the chairperson, however, played her role in guiding and moderating the discussions on Wednesday.

“There were frank discussions on the topic…we were arguing our own dispositions, but at the end of the day, it is an incomplete discussion,” said Alexander, adding that in the circumstances of the ongoing discussion, he would prefer not to make any further revelations about what occurred in the meeting.

“I would say one may concur that we prefer in the interest of taking the process forward, preferably to not make public disclosures…the public will get a decision,” he said.
Officials of GECOM are set to meet again on Friday at 13:00hrs to continue discussions on the house-to-house registration process. Although a decision is yet to be made, the house-to-house registration, which started on July 20, 2019, has been ongoing.
Public Relations Officer of GECOM, Yolanda Ward had said that on August 18, the commission recorded 270,282 registrations. She said the process has been going smoothly so far.

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, therefore, all eligible persons are mandated to register,” GECOM said.
House-to-house registration is a new registration exercise, and all eligible persons must register, even if they were previously registered, the elections management body stated. 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 Official List of Electors (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.
Residents are urged to have the relevant documents required for registration ready and be on the lookout for GECOM’s registration officials in their area. “These documents include an original Birth Certificate, a Valid Passport, Naturalisation Certificate, Certificate of Registration, Adoption Certificate and Deed Poll or Marriage Certificate (if applicable),” said GECOM.