Police ranks from across the country are being summoned to produce relevant information to their superiors to verify whether or not they were registered for the upcoming regional and national elections.
According to a senior Police source, the ranks have been instructed to report to their superiors in their respective divisions whether they had completed the registration exercise that was conducted by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) recently.
However, even though they are being mandated to supply such information to their commanding officers, the police ranks are uncertain as to what will happen to those who have not yet registered for the impending elections.
“I am not sure what will happen, or why they need it in the first place. But they told us we have to do it, and that’s what we have to do. My friends, I am not sure if they got to register, and for those who didn’t, we don’t know what will happen, what they plan to do, or if there are any forms of sanction,” the policeman stated.
According to the policeman, the instruction was sent out via a whatsapp text in a group that was created and is being used by all Police officers in that Division.
He further explained that in “B” Division (Berbice), this information, which is being garnered at all Police outposts and Police stations, will be forwarded to the office of the Commander there.
Meanwhile, in “C” Division, (East Coast Demerara), Police ranks were given a different instruction.
In a document seen by this online news entity, in a Police message sent/received via books, there is a notice that Police ranks will have to report to the Brickdam Police station on Tuesday with “slips” to prove whether or not they had been registered.
Attempts to contact Police Commissioner Leslie James on the matter proved futile. Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice (retd)Claudette Singh, last week put a halt to the House- to-House Registration. The last day for such an activity was August 31.
it was reported that based on the ruling of the Chief Justice on August 14, 2019 that House-to-House Registration is not unlawful and is constitutional, the data garnered from that registration exercise must be merged with the existing National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB).
In this regard, the Commission will move to an extensive Claims and Objections Exercise (C&O) before extracting the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).
The Commission, however, stated it will continue to further deliberate on other matters of importance for the holding of General and Regional Elections within the shortest possible time, and the Secretariat will continue to implement a number of operations activities, in particular training of polling day staff and procurement of non-sensitive materials.
