…advocates disenfranchisement of eligible voters
DISHONEST persons, who tell lies more than they speak the truth, often find themselves in problems because they do not always remember the original lie they told on an issue; likewise those who change positions on issues more often than they change their clothes.
The PPP fought relentlessly for Guyanese people to have the right to vote and to be represented in the Legislative Council.  Today, that right is enshrined in the Laws of Guyana and empowers every individual in the country to vote for the government of their choice – whether the political party they support is the PPP/C, APNU, or the AFC.
Until recently, the first peoples of this country were treated as if they had no rights and were relegated to the netherworld of existence in the nation, so many of them have no essential legal documentation, such as birth certificates, because the national processes that provide them with rights that every Guyanese citizen enjoys were denied them, almost en bloc.

Essentially no Guyanese should be disenfranchised, and GECOM should go that extra mile to fulfill its mandate.  It is an entirely autonomous body and should not allow itself to be influenced by the self-serving agenda of any one political party.  It must be true only to its mandate, as it is constitutionally empowered to do; and its bounden duty is to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised.

The national house-to-house registration was also not easily facilitated in hinterland regions because of the topography, with communities flung far and wide, with some extremely hard to access.  Also there are many eligible voters who were working on location in inaccessible areas who were not registered for some reason or another.  There are many of Guyana’s rural poor of the older generation who were not provided birth certificates as well, because during those years the social systems were extremely dysfunctional and city-centric.
Essentially no Guyanese should be disenfranchised, and GECOM should go that extra mile to fulfill its mandate.  It is an entirely autonomous body and should not allow itself to be influenced by the self-serving agenda of any one political party.  It must be true only to its mandate, as it is constitutionally empowered to do; and its bounden duty is to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised.
Elections are constitutionally due at the end of the year.  Many persons yet remain unregistered.  GECOM has to serve three months notice prior to the actual date of general elections in Guyana.
The latest probable date, constitutionally, is 28 December 2011. So if notice is served late September there is yet in excess of a two-month period between now and then to ensure that no-one is disallowed from exercising his/her franchise because their documentation was not accessible to them.
Those who do not have the requisite documentation should be identified either by a Toshao or a village elder; or some relevant and credible authority that could authenticate the identity of someone who cannot prove their identity or their nationality.
This could be done – community by community, in order that every person is allowed to exercise his/her constitutional right to vote.
GECOM has established procedures to ensure the accuracy of the final Voters’ List; and if that list is certified in September then there is ample time for that body to make every effort to capture every eligible voter in that list.
The allegation by the opposition parties that an extended verification and registration period could affect the integrity of the final voters’ list is so incredible that it raises serious doubts about their intentions, especially in view of the fact that they had written to GECOM, with which they had also sought audience, pleading with that body to ensure that all eligible voters were included in the final voters’ list.
One wonders if this is another ploy to use as a leverage to claim that the elections were flawed in some way or another; as they are habitually prone to do every time they lose at the polls.
This is the only explanation for their adoption of two contrasting positions on the same issue; because it allows them grounds for protest, post-elections, if GECOM extends the registration period or not.  Either way they are creating opening for appeal.
The PPP/C is ready for elections; so there is no credibility in the contention of the opposition parties that the governing party is trying to postpone elections.  That party knows that it will win the elections with an overwhelming majority.
It was the opposition parties, mere months ago, that appealed to GECOM to extend the claims and objections period to ensure that every eligible voter is provided an opportunity to exercise his/her franchise.
Today, true to their proclivity of speaking with forked tongues, they are claiming that extending the registration process will taint the voters’ list.
The opposition took to the streets in violent protest in 2006, calling for verification and a new house-to-house registration exercise, a demand to which the Government complied at great cost to the nation.
The PPP/C support base is intact.  It was PNC supporters that boycotted that party in droves – some who did not vote and some went over to the AFC.
Today, the PNC no longer exists, the newly-birthed APNU has no credibility, and the AFC has become the old ROAR in AFC clothing, because the core supporters of the AFC have abandoned ship.
However, the PPP/C is stronger than ever.  Ensuring that no Guyanese is disenfranchised is a principled position and has no bearing on the PPP’s chances at the polls, because that Party is confident of winning any general election in Guyana, called at any time – with even greater numbers than before, based on its track record of achievement while in government.
This latest ploy by the opposition will not change their fate at the upcoming polls, despite their ambivalent position anent the final voters list.
This latest position, given their track record, is an excuse to march in the streets, post-elections, to protest an election which they will claim a plethora of reasons for their losing at the polls.  It is why they always speak with forked tongues because they themselves cannot be consistent with their inconsistencies if they are to create enough and impactful illusions to their supporters as to their failure, time and again, to draw enough confidence in the electorate and their previous political enclaves, to vote them into government in any free-and-fair election in this country.