MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony and Minister in the Ministry of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran has, over the weekend, joined  the continuing televised panel discussions with regard to the disenfranchisement of a significant number of Guyanese who were not in possession of their source documents prior to the closure of the Claims and Objections period.
The Cabinet ministers, during a televised discussion programme on NCN Channel 11 on Saturday last, reiterated that those who have not been able to register due to no fault of their own and who would have made stringent efforts to get registered, should be able to do so.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon was the first to appear on a televised panel discussion the previous evening (last Friday), also on NCN Channel 11, where he reiterated the administration’s stance on the staging of a similar exercise to the recently concluded Claims and Objections period to cater for the alarmingly large electorate members that have been disenfranchised as Guyana prepares for this year’s national elections.

According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), these discussions seek to present clarifications on the issue, explore what is happening and what should happen and the position of the PPP/C Government.
During last Saturday’s discussion, it was noted that the original intention of the Opposition parties was to have all eligible persons on the list of voters, but now they have somersaulted and are adopting a different position, that would result in disenfranchisement of eligible voters.
Dr. Anthony said that, during the execution of the Claims and Objections exercise by GECOM, which ended on June 12, it was realized that there was a significant number of Guyanese who were not able to register because they were not in possession of a birth certificate at that time.
The ministers noted that the PPP had led the struggle for Universal Adult Suffrage, since its inception in the late 1940s.

With regard to persons who were unable to complete the registration process, Dr. Anthony emphasised that after becoming aware of the number of persons who were not registered due to not having the necessary source document (birth certificate), the party brought this to the attention of GECOM and asked about the possibility of the Commission finding a way of allowing these persons who have now got their birth certificates to get on the list.

Minister Ramsaran pointed out that “the mechanisms are such that the dates for the elections will not have to be pushed further.”
He said too that “transparency will be there since the mechanism was tried and used already during the Claims and Objections period when we were able to garner 45,554 persons for that list. So the same mechanisms will be used.”
Dr. Anthony added that, earlier in the year, several of the Opposition parties shared the same concern. However, they have changed that position to say now that the Claims and Objections period would have ended, that they are not interested in anyone who would have been left out.
“It is disenfranchising people,” Dr. Anthony stated.
“So how can we know that there are persons out there who are eligible to vote, who want to vote, they have met all the other requirements; they did not have their birth certificate at the time when the registration was going on but now they have it. Why is it that we can’t create a mechanism to allow them to vote?”  Minister Anthony queried.

“I think that we can refer to the Chronicle on July 16 where Dr. Luncheon looks at options to resolve disenfranchisement which will not compromise election deadlines. Why? Because elections can go to late down in December, constitutionally around the 28 December of this year after the President would have done certain things constitutionally,” Dr. Ramsaran posited.

He explained that although the Claims and Objections period has ended, “we have approximately four months without changing any of the rules and regulations that are governing the process of registering people to include all of those patriotic Guyanese who want to get on the voters’ list and this is across the political divide.”
He emphasised that the PPP/C administration will not allow people to be administratively disenfranchised.
“The point to underline is that the people have presented themselves (those without birth certificates) and have gone through the process of trying to obtain their birth certificates which was a prerequisite to get the process started and completed,” the minister noted.
Dr. Ramsaran pointed out that the parties which have now joined themselves into the joint opposition parties, even they, up to the close of the Claims and Objections period, approached GECOM and the Private Sector Commission as well, to raise these concerns about the number of persons who were not registered.
Dr. Anthony stressed that of great importance is the preparation of a list for a general election that is as accurate as possible, and in so doing the authorities must try their utmost to ensure that everyone who is eligible and meets the requirement is on that list.
Dr. Anthony also pointed out that the mechanism which all the parties are requesting can be found and it offers all the safeguards.
“So when you come, you present your birth certificate to the registration centre, they go through the process – filling forms, fingerprinting, photo and verifications of home addresses, all in the presence of scrutineers from the political parties…there are safeguards at every stage of the process,” he emphasised.
Following the end of the Claims and Objections exercise, GECOM provided the political parties with the list of approximately 38,000 persons who could not register because they were not in possession of source documents, a list of persons who had not collected their ID cards and electronic copies of the National Register of Registrants (NRR) and the Preliminary List of Electors for the 2011 Elections.