GECOM urges registrants to uplift National ID Cards

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is calling on persons who have applied for new or replacement National Identification (ID) Cards to ensure they collect their new cards. GECOM said on Wednesday there are ID Cards dating back to 2008 that are still to be uplifted.
“The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is, once again, advising persons who completed registration transactions such as (i) application for new registration, (ii) changes/ corrections to their registration particulars, or (iii) applied for a replacement ID going back to since 2008 and have not uplifted their National Identification Card to do so at their earliest convenience,” a missive issued by GECOM detailed.
GECOM has said it is cognizant that, in some instances, registrants may have changed their addresses since the registration transactions were conducted, thus resulting in them not being able to uplift their ID Cards from the GECOM Offices where the applications for registration were made. In this regard, such persons are advised to visit the GECOM Registration Office that is responsible for their new area of residence in order to request their ID Card.
“Consequently, the Commission will make the necessary arrangements to have the ID Cards transferred to the Registration Offices responsible for the new areas of residence to enable the delivery of the Cards.”
Additionally, persons are advised that they must appear in person to uplift their ID Cards.
The Commission is also reminding that distribution of ID Cards is being done at all GECOM permanent Registration Offices countywide during normal working hours, viz. Monday to Thursday from 8:00hrs to 16:30hrs, and on Fridays from 8:00hrs to 15:30hrs.
GECOM officials had disclosed at a press conference last November that there were approximately 28,283 new applications for ID Cards as of then, and that this figure was expected to grow before the end of 2024.
At the time, it was disclosed that some 718,715 persons were registered to vote in Guyana.
Meanwhile, ahead of the upcoming polls this year, GECOM had earlier this month informed persons who had registered during the 2019 House-to-House registration exercise, which was deemed illegal by the High Court, to re-register. In a January 15 statement, GECOM said it is of crucial importance to remind that the applications for registration by all eligible persons who were under 18 years of age during the 2019 House-to-House Registration exercise were not processed, based on a policy decision that was taken by the Commission. Accordingly, such persons were not registered, and therefore are required to re-apply for registration, if they have not yet done so.
This, GECOM explained, is consistent with the August 2019 decision of Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George, who, in the case of Christopher Ram’s challenge to the legality of House-to-House Registration, ruled that while the exercise was not unconstitutional or unlawful, the removal of names from the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB) using any method other than what is provided for by the Constitution and the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08 would be illegal.
In a move to abide by the decision of the court, the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh, decided that the House-to-House Registration Exercise be immediately terminated.
Consequently, only the registration transactions for persons who were first-time registrants and who had met the requirements to be registered as electors at that time were considered for processing of their applications. (G8)