By: Jarryl Bryan
Following the dispatch of an internal memo by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, both of the main political parties have indicated their no objections to an extended period of Claims and Objections.
Persaud’s missive, a copy of which was seen by this publication, proposes that GECOM should have an extended “Correction of Registers” period of 14 days, before the holding of the Local Government Elections (LGE) which were scheduled for March 13, 2023.
In this exercise, GECOM would facilitate the submission of claims for admission to the voters’ register, correcting incorrect listings, applications for name changes and transfers, objections and verifications of address.
Notably, Persaud indicated in his letter that this proposal, if accepted, “would cause the conduct of Local Government Elections to be further delayed.”
A previous Claims and Objections exercise was conducted between August and September, 2022. Notwithstanding this, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in a statement on Tuesday noted that they are not opposed to another such exercise.
“The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will not be opposed to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) embarking upon another round of Claims and Objections in respect of the Register of Voters for the upcoming Local Government Elections proposed to be held in 2023,” PPP said in their statement.
Meanwhile, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) also welcomed this development.
Last week, Chief Scrutineer of APNU/AFC, Carol Smith Joseph filed legal actions against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), challenging the process used to compile the List of Electors, or voters’ list, for the upcoming LGE.
The Fixed Date Application, which was filed on Friday last at the High Court in Georgetown, lists GECOM, the Chief Elections Officer, the Commissioner of Registration, and the Attorney General as respondents.
In October, GECOM had completed its Claims and Objections period, capturing more than 3000 new applicants who will be eligible to vote by October 31, 2022, as well as a total of 18 objections to names on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).
In an interview with this publication at the time, GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward had said that all 18 objections went through hearings where evidence was presented and the objections upheld. These hearings, she said, are in various stages of being completed.
“It’s mandatory… so after you make an objection, you have a period for hearing where you must provide the authentic documents to prove your case. And based on that, the respective officers make a determination in terms of whether they’re upheld or not,” the PRO has said.
She explained that claims came to an end on September 21, while objections ended on September 25. According to Ward, the exercise had run with little to no hiccups and the extensions allowed for maximum participation of the population.
At the time the claims and objections exercise had been extended, GECOM had explained that the decision to do so by a week was for persons to have further opportunities to make changes to the voters’ list.
LGE, which are usually due every two years, were last held in 2018. At the last LGE in November 2018, the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition had secured 52 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs). This followed the holding of the LGE in 2016, during which the PPP/C also claimed the majority of the LAAs.
In October, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall had set Monday, March 13, 2023, as the date for hosting the long-overdue Local Government polls in Guyana. This was the earliest date that GECOM indicated the elections could be held.
