According to reports out of Region 9, during the 2019 House to House Registration exercise, several persons presented fake birth certificates to GECOM’s enumerators in an effort to be registered. Several others presented old ID cards, but could not produce a source document, birth certificate or passport, that would have been required to acquire the ID card in the first place. It is also reported that foreign nationals, “non english speakers,” were banishing ID cards.
According to the PPP, the Chief Justice ruled that GECOM does not have the authority to remove these persons from the National Register of Registrants (NRR). According to the PPP, the CJ ruled that Article 38 of the National Registration Act is not really a law. Article 38 gives Registration Officers the authority to flag a person, who he or she believes is not qualified to be registered, and initiate a process for that person to prove he or she is infact so qualified. According to the PPP, the CJ ruled that GECOM could be fully aware there are fraudulent names on the list, but will have no authority to remove them. According to the PPP, the CJ ruled that the NRR created in 2008 will exist for time in perpetuity. Is this logical?
This NRR presently has the names of over 40,000 dead people. This is despite the removal of the names of approximately 2300 dead persons each year. It is also estimated that the names of approximately 12,000 persons who died overseas are still on the NRR. In the not too distant future the dead on the NRR, both locally and overseas, will be equal to the living, . According to the PPP, the CJ said that even then GECOM will not have the authority to scrap the NRR.
We all know about the point of diminishing returns, beyond which it makes no sense to continue to invest in an endeavor. For instance, when your car starts to give so much trouble that the repair cost becomes impractical, you sell it or give it away to charity, and buy a new one. Similarly, we are at the point where the NRR is so defective, it could no longer be used as the basis for producing a credible elections. According to the PPP, the CJ said never mind that, we have to keep the NRRDB to protect the rights of overseas based Guyanese. This is illogical, here is why.
With every right there is an accompanying responsibility. We have a right to life, and a responsibility to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A right to assemble, but a responsibility to do so in an orderly fashion. A right to free speech, but a responsibility to ensure that speech does not endanger others. For instance, your right to free speech does not give you the right to shout, “BOMB, BOMB,” in a crowded Providence Stadium.
Similarly, overseas based, and all other, Guyanese have a right to be on the NRR, and to vote, but they also have the responsibility to present themselves to an enumerator when a new NRR is being created through House to House Registration. A licensed driver has to present him or herself periodically. An old age pensioner must present him or herself periodically. This is a time tested method of maintaining the integrity of a data base.
Some may say, “look at the United States. They do not scrap their data base.” However, they may want to take note of the power wielded by the Secretary of State for each state. Look at the last gubernatorial election in Georgia, for instance. The sitting Secretary of State was candidate for governor against Stacey Abrams. He, acting within the law, purged tens of thousands of names from the voters roll.
It is ironic that in the US, an official who is also a candidate in the elections he is overseeing, could remove over 300,000 names from the voters roll, but in Guyana, the PPP is saying the CJ ruled it is illegal for the independent Guyana Elections Commission to do so for just cause. This is nothing but an attempted to strip GECOM of its ability to create credible lists for the next, and subsequent elections.