‘We’re very pleased’
People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) General- Secretary, Amna Ally
People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) General- Secretary, Amna Ally

…gov’t supporters hail GECOM’s move on house-to-house registration

MEMBERS of the coalition have hailed the decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to continue its routine plan for 2019, which includes house-to-house registration.
On Wednesday, General-Secretary of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Minister of State Joseph Harmon, told this newspaper that GECOM has made a decision in favour of the rights of citizens. “The statement that they made on Tuesday, I believe is a statement in the interest in all of Guyana, because we’ve said also that we need a clean and a sanitised voters’ list,” he stated, adding: “Thousands of people all across this country were picketing for house-to-house registration. The whole purpose was to ensure that the voters’ list with which we would go into election, that, that list is sanitised and it is clean and it is a list upon which you can have credible elections results.”

Indeed, picketing exercises took place in towns such as Bartica, Lethem, Linden, New Amsterdam, Georgetown, sections of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Fort Wellington.

Protesters chanted, “Clean up the list. No registration, no elections.”
“It is an independent commission and they will make a determination as to their operational readiness for an election,” Harmon said. “We’ve always said that we respect the commission and whatever decisions they make we will work with it.”

VERY PLEASED
Meanwhile, President of the Alliance For Change (AFC) youth arm, Youth For Change (YFC), Cynthia Rutherford, expressed on behalf of the group that they are “very pleased.”
“We felt, as expressed before to the media, that house-to-house registration was necessary, so that everyone can be included in the voting process and that no youths are disenfranchised,” she said.

“The opposition believes that this call for house-to-house registration is a delaying tactic, but we don’t believe that that is the case and we feel very sad and disappointed actually that they would believe that it’s a delaying tactic and peddle that. A lot of the young people who will be new voters, you can’t look at them and identify who they’ll throw their support for,” she said.

Rutherford explained frankly that the issue of house-to-house registration is not about parties garnering support, but about ensuring that every eligible young person is granted their constitutional right to vote. “Everyone who fits the requirements constitutionally, which is 18 years or older, should be able to vote and they should not be disenfranchised just because the opposition believes or feels that an election is necessary within a certain timeframe,” she began.

Residents in Lethem during a protest for the holding of house-to-house registration

“I was in the Rupununi over the weekend for the ministerial fan-out and some YFC members, including myself, personally spoke with young people in the Rupununi who were 18 or were about to turn 18, who have not been registered and would have been disenfranchised. So, we’re very happy because this would include a wide range of young people across ethnicity, political support and region.”

People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) General-Secretary and Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, gave a similar account of the interest of youths in the Rupununi region in being included in the voting process. “Quite a lot of them [expressed concerns] because they are concerned they are going to be disenfranchised if they don’t receive house-to-house registration,” she said. “I’m just looking forward to the start of the house-to-house registration.”

Speaking on the vote of GECOM to continue its 2019 agenda, Ally added: “I feel good about it because I believe that it is the way to go, because that is going to be able to sanitise the voters’ list. We do not believe in a claims and objections to sanitise the list; we believe in the house-to-house registration, so I think GECOM has made a wise decision.”
In the GECOM decision, which was arrived at by vote on Tuesday, the commission decided that, to facilitate an election, there would be need for appropriation from Parliament.
The decision came after Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield was tasked with seeking out the Ministry of Finance on whether the $3B allocated for house-to-house registration in 2019 could be used to fund elections this year. The Finance Ministry, in providing guidance, stated that the 2019 appropriation for the elections commission is not subject to alteration by the ministry and the $3B sum cannot be transferred without prior approval of the National Assembly.

Regarding this, Harmon said: “I believe GECOM is doing its work and we should continue to support them in the work that they’re doing and, as you know, we’ve provided funds in the National Assembly for them to do registration and, I suppose, at the appropriate time, if they need more money for an election whenever that is, they will come to us again and we will [look] upon it with favour.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.