Government has delved further into defiance mode, insisting on house-to-house registration before elections, despite the landmark ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Finance Minister Winston Jordan, at an outreach yesterday in Bartica, Region Seven, called for government supporters to take to the streets to picket for house-to-house registration.
“Comrades, be on the ready…we will be able to call you out to picket for house-to-house registration. No registration, no election,” Jordan declared.
“From today, war break because we got to go to elections before the end of this year hopefully, I say hopefully because we can only go to elections when GECOM say they are ready,” the Minister added.
Jordan went on to complain about the voters’ list, which expired on April 30, 2019, insisting that it needs to be updated through house-to-house registration.
“CCJ or no CCJ, they can’t tell us that we must tinker with that list to call elections,” Jordan contended, insisting that government only wants elections that are free, fair and proper.
Even though there is a possibility that the court might order early elections, the government, including President David Granger, has been insisting on house-to-house registration – a process which can take until November 2019.
But legal minds have argued that the list of electors can be updated through a simple and less time-consuming claims and objections process which will ensure persons eligible to vote are registered.
In fact, this is the legal opinion submitted by GECOM’s own legal officer, Excellence Dazzle – but it was outright rejected by the Government-aligned GECOM Commissioners.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is already on record saying that, practically, elections should be held within two-three months.
The CCJ is expected to rule on June 24, 2019 on how Guyana should proceed, having already determined that the no-confidence motion against the coalition government was validly passed on December 21, 2018.
The Guyana Constitution says upon the passage of the motion, the government must resign and call elections to be held within three months.
It is now some six months since the government was defeated by the passage of the no-confidence motion.
