THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Wednesday disclosed that it will extend the ongoing Claims and Objections Exercise by seven days, in a bid to allow further participation in the process by eligible persons.
The Claims and Objections Exercise commenced on August 22, 2022. According to a GECOM release, the new dates will allow persons who are desirous of making a claim to be included in the Official List of Electors (OLE) to do so up until Wednesday, September 21, 2022; while persons who intend to object to the inclusion of names in the OLE have until Sunday, September 25 to submit their objection(s).

“In view of the foregoing, the Commission is urging all eligible persons to ensure that they use this extension to ensure that they are registered for inclusion in the Revised List of Electors (RLE) and ultimately the Official List of Electors (OLE) as it is a prerequisite to be eligible to vote. Persons are also encouraged to object to the inclusion of the name of any person whom they believe should not be in the list, based on the legal provisions,” the release said.

The Claims and Objections exercise is among the final phases being undertaken by GECOM in preparation for the upcoming Local Government Elections.
The A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) had complained that the voters’ list is bloated but Justice Singh assured them that any name on the list is there legally.

She had also informed the Coalition that the claims and objections period would give persons a chance to object to those who are not supposed to be on the list.
The claims and objections exercise is used as a mechanism to sanitise the list to prepare an Official List of Electors (OLE) for the upcoming elections.

During the exercise, any person who will be 18 years and older by October 31, 2022, and is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, or naturalisation, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, can make a claim by the new close date to be included on the OLE, providing that he/she was never previously registered.

GECOM said all eligible persons who intend to make a claim are required to visit the GECOM registration office responsible for their area of residence with the applicable source document(s) such as original birth certificate, valid passport, adoption certificate, or naturalisation certificate/certificate of registration to be registered.

The release stated that existing registrants are also advised to check the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) posted at two prominent buildings in their respective Electoral Division / Sub Division, at the registration office responsible for their areas of residence, at GECOM’s Head Office, or on GECOM’s website at www.gecom.org.gy to verify the accuracy of their registration information.

“In this regard, persons who are required to update their registration records such as changes or corrections to their names and occupation, or to apply for a transfer in relation to their addresses are advised that those transactions would also be facilitated during this exercise.”

The relevant source documents such as an original marriage certificate, deed poll with birth certificate, or a new birth certificate reflecting the changes must be presented in the case of an application for a change or correction.

The release noted that, objections against the inclusion of names in the PLE can be tendered to the Registration Officer of the Registration Area. Objection(s) can be submitted by an elector who is listed in the same Division list /Sub Division list in which the person being objected to is listed.

Objections can also be made by approved scrutineers of political parties provided that any such scrutineer has monitoring responsibilities for the division/sub division in which the person being objected to is listed. The relevant original document(s) such as an original death certificate must be presented at the time of the hearing to support the basis upon which the objection is made, GECOM said.