Dear Editor,
Last night I was going through my stories on Snapchat, and I noticed one of my followers posted GECOM’s House-to-House team re-registering them. I have been following this matter keenly as I was very concerned about my status on the list.
On August 14, 2019, the Chief Justice stated: “residency is not a qualifying requirement for registration pursuant to Article 159 (2) and therefore the names of persons which are currently on the list of registrants and voters who are not registered during the House-to-House Registration exercise cannot be removed unless the persons are deceased or become disqualified pursuant to Article 159 (2) with the provisions for such removal in the NRA to be complied with”.
This made me very elated as I will not be removed from the voters’ list and my rights will not be violated.
The right to be registered to vote and the right to vote are sacrosanct and fundamental. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Guyana has acceded establishes the right to vote as a matter of international human rights law and provides that every citizen has a right to vote.
Now my issue today is the wasting of resources with the House-to-House exercise. The Chief Justice ruled that it isn’t unlawful but it’s more of a means of verification. Editor, I was registered during a period of Continuous Registration, where I actively went into the GECOM office near my house and signed myself up. Why not open a period of such?
Chief Justice R George, SC, stated: “The NCM is an extraordinary circumstance that GECOM must bear in mind in its decision-making as it conducts the House-to-House Registration and for that matter any verification process that has as objective the compilation or revision of the list of electors for the required upcoming elections”.
Bearing in mind all that has passed since December 21, 2018, should GECOM be focusing all resources on getting an election in the shortest possible time. As a constitutional actor, they should be concerned with Guyana becoming unconstitutional. Besides that, they should realise how finite resources are, and pouring resources into an activity that can be done in another manner is simply not the most advisable thing to do.
Therefore, Editor, I am appealing to all sound-minded Guyanese to see the light and join me in a call for an end to House-to-House Registration. Stop wasting money that can be allocated to ensuring we have credible elections.
Regards,
Nutana Singh
