— says government-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander

GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander has affirmed that the sanitation of the voters’ list that has expired since April is critical for free and fair elections and while there are other options of sanitising the list, house-to- house registration is the better one.

He said the three GECOM commissioners who are in agreement with house-to-house registration have a compelling argument to make to whoever will be appointed the new chairman of GECOM.

“Sanitisation of the list is critical, house-to-house has been provided for in the budget, house-to-house has been agreed to as a routine process from time to time, so it’s critical,” he said on Straight Talk on the Benschop Radio.

President Granger, in a recent address to the nation, said if the Opposition Leader is prepared to act in a consensual manner and in good faith, a new GECOM chairman could be appointed today.

GECOM is in preparation mode for house-to-house registration and the decision of the three PPP commissioners will not stymie the process since the secretariat was already given the go-ahead to commence registration.

What was delaying the process, he related, was the acquisition of house-to- house registration material through the process of procurement. With a new electoral list that will be extracted from the new registrar of registrants, GECOM will scrap the old list which is currently bloated with tens of thousands of dead persons.

While the secretariat has already been ordered to proceed with house-to- house registration, Alexander said GECOM has to sit and analyse the ruling of the CCJ, and how best it can move ahead in keeping with that ruling.

“Now that the CCJ has ruled, we have to sit and see what are the implications of the ruling, in relation to the way forward… that’s what I think has to happen now,” he said. In his address to the nation, President David Granger reaffirmed that house-to-house registration is a prerequisite to free and fair elections and maintains that it is important to his government that this must be carried out.

The President has long maintained that the current list of voters is outdated and corrupted. Reports indicate that there are approximately 200,000 incorrect entries on the now expired ‘Official List of Voters.’ In a previous address to the nation, the President said the Constitution entitles all citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote.

“It is a democratic imperative that house-to-house registration be completed swiftly so we can have an election at the earliest opportunity,” he said

There have been continuous calls even through protest actions countrywide for house-to-house registration to be held. Youths whose names are not on the voters’ list are adamant that they must be given a chance to demonstrate their franchise at the upcoming regional and general elections.