Continuous registration will make GECOM fully prepared

Dear Editor,
Following highly successful Local Government Elections, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has issued notice of the resumption of the continuous registration exercise. This process, no doubt, falls entirely within the institution’s mandate for compliance with our legislative framework, and will enable GECOM to be prepared for the holding of elections promptly, and complement many other existential requirements of citizens as an ongoing concern.
This Continuous Registration exercise commenced on July 4, 2023 and, unless extended, will end on November 30, 2023. During this exercise, registration transactions will occur from Monday to Friday at all GECOM permanent offices nationwide. Any person who will be 14 years and older by December 31, 2023, is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, naturalisation or registration, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, can apply for registration, provided they were never previously registered. Further, this exercise will allow citizens to update their records regarding name changes, dates of birth, occupation, and present addresses.
Persons who intend to conduct any registration transaction must visit the GECOM Registration Office in their area with the necessary source documents. The source documents are original birth certificate, valid passport, adoption certificate, naturalisation certificate, or certificate of registration and deed poll. It is of note that the applicant must provide an original marriage certificate in support of an application for name change, and in the case of a divorced person, the original marriage certificate and the absolute divorce decree instrument must be provided to facilitate easy transaction.
GECOM’s monthly updating of its records regarding deceased persons is also a step in the right direction. Under the authority enshrined in the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08, GECOM will also remove the names of deceased people from the Register in coordination with the data provided by General Register Office every month. This sustained approach to updating the Register of Registrants will improve the statistical accuracy of voters’ responses and quell any concerns or complaints about a bloated List.
Editor, the related track record of the PNC-led Opposition has been a system of deterioration initially driven by a call for a new house-to-house registration approach, which would have disenfranchised thousands of Guyanese citizens. The party commenced the activity under David Granger’s imposed selection of James Patterson as Chairman of GECOM. The Chief Justice eventually deposed this move, and threw out the challenge to stretch the APNU time in power, given that it was clear the plot involved completing the activity way beyond the five-year term of office.
Notably, the Caribbean Court of Justice also ruled that Patterson had to go, thereby loosening the dictatorial grip they were beginning to establish. Subsequently, current Chairwoman Madam Claudette Singh led a Commission decision to stop the sinister house-to-house activity, driving the final nail in the coffin concerning this wicked intent.
GECOM is now enhancing the work of the Commission to prepare for, and ensure the running of, free and fair elections. Further, the service of treating responses to our citizens’ need for identification cards is a critical beneficial undertaking as young Guyanese come of age. This form of identification is central to essential financial and security, among other developmental operation functions, as the young and other adult Guyanese become more involved in our productive society.
Most adult citizens would recall the improved sense of maturity they felt when first obtaining their Identification Cards, including the recognition that they would be part of the democratic process of being able to vote at the age of eighteen. Consequently, Guyanese must fully utilise GECOM’s genuine efforts to update the Register of Registrants to produce the best Voters List. Of course, the network of GECOM offices countrywide was created to support this mechanism over the years, and citizens must fully utilise the ease of access, since they provide the advantage of convenience nationally. Therefore, we should complement GECOM’s genuine efforts to get all Guyanese of age on the Register of Registrants.
Guyana is on the rise. Our democracy is further being strengthened as our diversity and unity.

Sincerely,
Neil Kumar