“Claims and Objections” faster process for early elections – Jagdeo

…merging of H2H Registration data will take elections to 2020

While lauding the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) recent decision to scrap the House to House (H2H) Registration exercise, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said that the plans to merge the data with the existing database will push the hosting of early elections to 2020.

Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo reiterated his party’s opposition to the merging of data. He argued that there is a much faster and simpler way of ensuring that everyone, including new registrants, gets on the voters’ list, that is, through Claims and Objections (C&O).
The Opposition Leader explained that of the 285,000 registrations that were obtained during the H2H exercise, only approximately 2000 are new registrants.
As such, instead of adding the more than 280,000 registrations to the existing National Register of Registrants (NRR) Database, which would have massive duplication, and since the Chief Justice, Roxane George, ruled that it would be unconstitutional to remove qualified persons from voters’ list, Jagdeo said GECOM should filter out those new registrants and have them re-register at their local divisions.

This, he added, will save some three months off the merging process.
“I’ve seen their latest work programme [and] with this merger, the most optimistic scenario is to go to Claims and Objections in November because the merger will take about three months and then elections on the 27th April, next year. So you understand this merger will not improve the database. It’s a delaying tactic once again. It will not improve the database. If you don’t merge the data, you have a simpler way of capturing all these people by getting the 2000 new registrants of the 285,000 to just go back and get re-registered,” he stated, adding that this time the registrations will be done consistent with GECOM’s manual, which says that it must be done in the presence of scrutinisers from the political parties.
This, Jagdeo said, did not happen in the House-to-House exercise.
Furthermore, he contended that the data collected during the more than 40-day registration might even be illegal. He noted that the statutory form for the conduct of House-to-House registrants was replaced with another form that was not approved by GECOM or the National Assembly.
According to the Opposition Leader, his party has already fought to prevent the contamination of the voters’ list and now there seems to be a new battle to fight, that is, to ensure that elections are being held on time.
“That is what we’re now attempting; to ensure that this so call merger of unverified data with a verified database doesn’t contaminate the database and doesn’t fall into APNU’s plan again to delay the elections using this so call merger, which is unnecessary, for another three months… so this is the new fight for decency,” he contended.
Jagdeo went on to say that the Government keep saying it wants elections at the earliest time possible but at the same time, its GECOM-nominated Commissioners are frustrating this. He said that publicly and privately, the Government Commissioners’ arguments are designed to slow things down.
Nevertheless, the Opposition Leader is hopeful that the Elections Commission will make the right decision on the way forward, saying his party has no intention of approaching the court to challenge the merger.
“All we’re saying to GECOM, without telling them what to do, is that the Constitution of Guyana stands above everything else. The caretaker President is not respecting the Constitution, but we expect, we have great faith that under the new leadership, GECOM will,” he asserted.
Earlier this week, the Justice Claudette Singh-led Elections Commission announced that the H2H Registration will be scrapped on August 31, and the information gathered thus far will be merged with the existing database.
GECOM said too that it will be moving to an extensive Claims and Objections period but no date was set for this. However, the Commission said it will continue to further deliberate on other matters relating to the holding of General and Regional Elections within the shortest possible time.
However, Jagdeo reminded at Thursday’s press conference of the Chief Justice’s ruling last month during which she said that GECOM is not operating in a normal elections cycle and as such should undertake processes which are less time-consuming.