GECOM: Stiffer penalties in place for registration fraud
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) headquarters
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) headquarters

PERSONS could see themselves being fined up to $5 million and placed in prison for up to five years if they commit registration offences such as providing false information to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), so as to fraudulently obtain and use an identification card.

In a statement released on Tuesday, GECOM reminded that recent changes to the National Registration Act, which was assented to on December 13, 2022 have paved the way not only for continuous registration, but also for stiffer penalties for false information provided in a number of instances.

The Commission is currently facilitating registration transactions at all its registration offices countrywide.
Previously, eligible persons could have only applied for new registration and changes or corrections to their particulars during specific periods determined by GECOM such as during a Cycle of Continuous Registration or Claims and Objections, respectively.

However, with the amendments to National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08, GECOM is now mandated to facilitate registration transactions throughout the year with two breaks to facilitate the publication and finalisation of a valid Official List of Electors (OLE).

“As such, any eligible person can now conduct registration transactions between the periods January to May, provided that they will be 14 years and older by the June 30, or during the period July to November, provided that they will be 14 years and older by the December 31 of the given year,” the statement said.

Persons must be Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, registration or naturalization, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, to apply for registration, providing that they were never registered.

Existing registrants who are desirous of updating their records, such as by an application to correct or change their names, date of birth, occupation or to update their addresses, are advised that those transactions would also be facilitated continuously during the periods outlined above.

The Commission has encouraged persons to ensure that they conduct their transactions in a timely manner, abide by the legal registration provisions and be cognizant of these amendments to the Act that could have serious consequences.

The amended Act can be accessed on GECOM’s website at www.gecom.org.gy for further information and perusal.

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