The holding of free, fair and transparent elections is an integral component of any democracy and therefore it is an imperative that all measures and systems are put in place to ensure an uncompromising expression of the will of the electorate. One of the key factors in ensuring this is achieved is ensuring, as far as is practically possible, that the maximum number of eligible voters are placed on the electoral register so that they are enfranchised.

The credibility of a national election is closely linked to the number of eligible voters that are registered because, hypothetically assuming there are 100,000 eligible voters but 25,000 are unregistered, it means that 25% of them would have been automatically disenfranchised and the question would justifiable arise as to whether the results of the election were credible, bearing in mind that such a large proportion of the electorate were denied their right to vote.

In Guyana we have had a long period when the credibility of elections did not matter because the results were a foregone conclusion due to massive and blatant rigging. Those were the days when the army and other coercive agencies ensured the results of elections were an expression of the will of those in power rather than that of the people.
The 1992 elections brought an end to that era and ushered in the dawn of a new, democratic era punctuated with the periodic free, fair and transparent elections since then.
However, in this current run-up period to elections, it appears that some are still trying to stifle the credibility of electoral results, because it is inexplicable that when the People’s Progressive Party called for a reopening of the registration process these people made a big hue and cry and vehemently opposed the reopening citing some of the most ludicrous and irrational reasons for doing so.
But one of the major contentions was that the reopening by the Guyana Elections Commission of the Claims and Objections exercise would somehow give an advantage to the ruling party.

This is mind-boggling, unless those who opposed the reopening are using  a mysterious or unknown method of ‘knowing’ that most of the unregistered persons were PPP supporters.

It is unfathomable to see why some politicians would seek to deliberately disenfranchise eligible voters. Or was it a sinister plan to challenge the validity and credibility of the election results when it would have been made known, and use it as a platform to launch mayhem and strife?
But the PPP’s position has now been vindicated because the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has reported that close to 7,000 persons (not the final figure) had been registered during the 13-day period which has now concluded.
It would be interesting to see the response of those who opposed the reopening of the registration process. Would they be so magnanimous as to accept that they were wrong? Knowing the Guyanese reality, this is just wishful thinking or, as some might say, ‘pissing in the wind’.
Instead, what is most likely to happen is that they will be picking on some other issue and try to change the goal posts once again.
But they should remember that the electorate are fully cognisant of those who were fighting for their enfranchisement and those who were doing the opposite, and this certainly may have an influence on the way they vote at the upcoming elections.
Now that the dust has settled on the registration process, GECOM will now have to move assiduously to fulfil all the other outstanding electoral obligations and responsibilities so that we could once again stage an election which truly establishes the will of the people.