THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), on Monday, began its registration exercise for all eligible persons, including first time applicants, at all permanent registration offices in the ten administrative regions.

According to a press release from GECOM, the registration exercise is of crucial importance for first time applicants in the 14-to-18-year range who were captured during the 2019 house-to-house registration. The application for registration for those persons had been cancelled and as such they are now required to reapply for registration during this new exercise.

During visits to several registration offices in Georgetown, the Guyana Chronicle did not observe any long lines.

At the South Georgetown office located on Croal Street, one staff member related that, throughout the day, a “good” number of persons turned up to be registered.

She said it was not the usual high numbers that they are used to seeing but it is expected that as more persons become aware of the ongoing exercise, the numbers will increase.

The release said that, during the registration exercise, a person who will be 14 years and older by October 31, 2022 and is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, naturalization or a citizen from a commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, can apply for registration.

Those persons must present the necessary documents including their original birth certificate and valid passport. In addition to that, those persons who are desirous of being registered should also provide proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative PCR test that was taken within 72 hours in order to gain entry to the registration office.