…says decision lawful, in keeping with due process

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh said her decision to verify the existence of the 25,000 persons who would have registered in 2008 but have failed to collect their Identification (ID) cards is in accordance with the law, and would therefore allow for due process.

In handing down the decision during Tuesday’s Statutory Meeting at the Elections Commission Headquarters, Justice Singh said persons would be given 21 days to uplift their ID cards, adding that failure to do such would result in their names being excluded from the Official List of Electors (OLE).

“Cognizant of the CJ’s ruling that GECOM should consider other methods of verification…I rule that notices by registered post be sent to the last address of such persons [and] also that their names be published in the daily newspapers. These persons should be given a period of 21 days to report to the Registration Offices in their respective areas,” Justice Singh said as he handed down her ruling.

It was explained that although their names will remain on the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB), once GECOM obtains the return slips from the post offices that the notices were delivered, the names of persons who failed to respond would not be included on the Official List of Electors (OLE).

Justice Singh’s decision was in response to two proposals put to the Commission by Government-nominated Election Commissioner, Charles Corbin, and was also in keeping with the decision of the Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire in the House-to-House Registration Case.

In her August 14, 2019 decision, the Chief Justice, in legitimatizing the process of House-to-House Registration, said given the urgent need for elections, the Elections Commission may have to consider other forms of verification.

“…since GECOM is seeking to register electors, GECOM may have to consider other options including what other methods of verification of the list may have to be utilized whether in conjunction with or separately from the House-to-House Exercise,” Justice George-Wiltshire said in her ruling.

Pointing to the High Court ruling, the GECOM Chairman maintained that her decisions thus far are in keeping with the law. Days after the August 14 ruling, Justice Singh took a decision to shorten the period of House-to-House Registration on the basis that the December 21, 2018 No-Confidence Motion, which was validated by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), triggered early elections in the country. Further in an effort to validate the existence of the 25,000 Guyanese who would have failed to collect their ID cards, the Commission, she said, in keeping with ruling of the High Court and the Laws of Guyana, took a decision to publish their names and send registered posts to their last address.

However, she made in clear, in her ruling, that the names of these persons will not be removed from the NRRDB as she again referenced to the decision of the High Could. “GECOM would have no legal authority to remove or deregister such persons who are otherwise qualified unless such registration can be cancelled pursuant to Sections 8 and 15 of the National Act,” the GECOM Chairman said as she quoted excerpts from the CJ’s ruling. She added: “Accordingly, GECOM would have no authority to remove the names from the NRRDB.”

Notably, in making her decision, Justice Singh rejected Corbin’s proposal for the names of persons, who did not participate in the house-to-house registration exercise but are on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE), be highlighted on the OLE.

However, she ruled that all persons who would have previously registered should be urged to visit registration officers in their respective areas to verify their information and ensure that their names are on the list.

“Persons who have had a change of address should ensure that they visit the Registration Office in the area in which they reside and so inform the staff in order to have the necessary transfers effected,” she further ruled.

She admonished that persons who would have had a change of name due to marriage should also visit the Registration Offices to effect the necessary changes. “All polling day staff are urged to securitize the particulars of all potential voters,” the Chairman ruled.

Over the weekend, the commission had published and attached to the existing PLE at several of its locations, the list of registrants who participated in the house-to-house registration exercise.