…PPP continues objections to removing ‘phantom’ ID card holders from voters list

THE Opposition’s Peoples Progressive Party continues its objection to the removing, from the voters’ list, thousands of persons who, since 2008, registered but never uplifted their ID cards.

Some commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission believe that these persons might be part of a scheme by the opposition to rig the upcoming elections. “Why are they not collecting their ID cards…thousands of ID cards and the opposition is arguing for them to remain on the list,” a commissioner, who asked not be named, reasoned.

At a previous statutory meeting of GECOM, a proposal was also made for the thousands of persons who were registered in 2008 but have not yet collected their ID cards, to be excluded from the OLE. In explaining this proposal too, Commissioner Vincent Alexander said: “It’s like an objection. So, the issue is not the ID card, the issue is that these persons, since 2008 and beyond 2008 have not, in any way, presented themselves to be present; to be known; to be alive; to be existing; to be resident. And, in calling them, writing to them gives us the opportunity to make a determination.” In all these matters, the Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo surmised that the Chairman has been a victim of “constant stream of bad advice”. He said that while he does not question her integrity, the Chair ought to be more “informative and strong” when dealing [with] the matters of the Commission.

At the October 15, GECOM statutory meeting, Commissioners also noted that a proposal was made for the names of persons, who did not participate in the house-to-house registration exercise but are on the Preliminary List, be highlighted on the Official List of Electors (OLE). These highlighted names would be on high alert for staff at polling stations on March 2, 2020 to ensure that no multiple and substitute voting takes place. “All it means is that you’re creating an awareness of people whose whereabouts are unknown and we’re therefore trying to create a greater alertness at the polling station when people come to vote with those names because, as we have said at the very inception, a bloated list provides the opportunity for multiple and substitute voting and so we need to be alert about the names which can be used for the purpose,” Commissioner Vincent Alexander had explained.

However, the Opposition Leader stated on Thursday: “That should have been shut down almost immediately but still it is a matter for discussion…these things should not confuse the electorate.” He claimed that these persons will be exposed to “discriminatory treatment” and biases from Presiding Officers on elections day and should have also been shut down by the Chair.

Jagdeo has since requested clarity from Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh on matters relating to international oversight and the highlighting and removal of names on the Voters List. At his press conference on Thursday, he called for the Chairman to provide clarity on the decisions made following each meeting of the Commission as he stated that the messages coming from Commissioners on the two sides of the divide often differ.
A key matter he requested clarification on was the Commission’s perusal of international oversight mechanism for GECOM’s Information Technology (IT) Department. He stated that the department is critical to the production of the List and the tabulation of votes and the decision to accept the services coming from organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) should have long been made by the Chair.

“UNDP, for a long time now, has made available their services of someone to have oversight in the IT department and that within GECOM there seems to be a consistent refusal to accept help in the IT Department that is oversight over the IT Department,” Jagdeo said.

The Leader of the Opposition stated further that the Commission, heading in to the new elections, should accept international oversight from every possible avenue. He stated: “I would have thought by now, having been there for a while that the Chairman would have by now ensured that the decisions are made –these are simple decisions—about an international presence in GECOM as a quality control mechanism to ensure that nobody tampers with the List; nobody within GECOM disenfranchises any Guyanese…clearly, by now we should have had the clarity on this issue.”