The procedure to produce an “Official List of Electors” (OLE) here was painstakingly worked out after the PNC used every trick in the book – and then some – to rig elections between 1968 and 1985. Basically, a National Register of Registrants’ Database (NRRD) – which was initiated in 1967 by the PNC – and maintained by the General Registry Office (GRO) — contains a list of all Guyanese fourteen years old and over who’d been registered since the last house-to-house (HtH) registration in 2008. Then, 430,746 persons had registered, and some 33,000 had to be straightened out for one reason or the other.
The NRRD’s been updated ever since by having youths register when they become 14 in a process of continuous registration. The problem, however, is those thousands who emigrate to “foreign” – but their names remain on the register – since they can be removed by the GRO only after they receive death certificates. When elections are in the offing – Local or National – a “Preliminary List of Electors” (PLE) is extracted of everyone who’s 18 or older, and GECOM then engages in a “Claims and Objections” (O&E) process. Here, everyone who can prove they should be on the list makes a “claim”, and those who detect missing and dead persons can make an “objection”.
In the just concluded O&E, there were some 3000 claims and only 18 objections. Now, since 2008, undoubtedly there are scads of Guyanese who’re now “foreign”, but their names remain on the List. So, for instance in 2019, with a population of 786,508 persons, the OLE had 661,378 voters – which was 84% of the list.
The PNC, when in Opposition, had insisted this “bloating” had to be remedied before they participated in elections – cause it helps PPP rigging, even though they’d LOST the 2015 elections!! They embarked on a HtH exercise in 2019 to “debloat” the list, which they claimed also had many dead people. The Court, however, was petitioned by a citizen, who claimed it was unconstitutional to remove overseas citizens’ names just because they weren’t resident in Guyana – and it ruled in his favour!!
Yet, the PNC’s again demanding HtH registration before it participates in elections – and didn’t even join in the latest C&O!! You would have thought that at the least they could’ve embarrassed the PPP by identifying all the dead folks they claimed to’ve uncovered as voting for them!! The PPP retorts that, with all the checks in the system – like picture IDs and other biometrics, checks by parties’ agents and GECOM staff etc – there cannot be widespread cheating to affect the elections results.
For instance, no one claims Barbados elections are rigged, yet, out of a population of 302,674, their OLE had 266,330 voters – 88%!!!
Lotsa Bajans are also foreign!!
…the kitty??
One popular strategy used in politics was interestingly coined (yes, “coined!) by PT Barnum, the circus shill!! He said promise folks everything and they’ll believe it, cause “a sucker’s born every minute”!! So, in Guyana, as soon as oil was struck, WPA leader CY Thomas, in his “Declaration of Buxton” – studiously echoing Burnham’s “Declaration of Sophia” – called in 2018 for the Government to hand over US$5000 EVERY year to EVERY Guyanese family!! Now, if that wasn’t designed to bring voters into the WPA camp, what was??
Problem is, there’s around 224,000 families in Guyana, so, to fulfil that promise would take over US$1.1 billion annually!! Yet, after three years, by the end of 2021, the NRF only had a total of US$608 million – with US$1 billion expected for this year!! So, the Government shouldn’t be using the NRF to develop infrastructure like roads, bridges and power generation!!
While your Eyewitness believes in a “basic income” –let’s not put the cart before the donkey, shall we??!!
…snow??
Guyana’s a transshipment point for Colombian cocaine. But three arrests from three random car searches? That’s ridiculous! 2.1kg each in cars at Bagotstown and Goed Fortuin…but, thankfully, only 16.5 grms at Goedverwagting.
Thankfully? The last was in the fella’s crotch!!
