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‘Significant additional effort’ needed to avoid disenfranchisement – Dr Luncheon

Jun 23, 2011 News

The government yesterday joined the Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP) in expressing fear that a significant number of persons could be left off the voters’ list for this year’s general elections.
According to Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon, the government sees that a “significant additional effort” would be needed to correct this.
The government’s chief spokesperson, Dr Luncheon, yesterday said that the finalisation of the voters’ list is “urgently” awaited by Cabinet in light of concerns that several persons could not have registered primarily because they did not have the relevant source documents.
One of the main source documents needed for one to get registered was a birth certificate, but stakeholders have expressed concern about the large number of persons unable to get their birth certificates in time from the General Registrar’s Office.
Luncheon said that this matter has plagued the exercise, and he noted the stand taken by the Guyana Elections Commission that the last opportunity for persons to register – the Claims and Objections period – would not be extended.
According to the chairman of GECOM, Dr Steve Surujbally, the Commission had documented the particulars of the approximately 38,000 who could not apply for registration, because they were not in possession of source documents.
He said that the commission shared this with the General Register Office and the political parties in Parliament.
Dr Surujbally said that the Commission had been pleading with people to get their source documents in order for six years now.
During two phases of Claims and Objections (under which persons could have registered if they weren’t, or make changes) approximately 80,000 persons more were registered – more than double the approximately 38,000 persons in question.
Dr Luncheon said that the closure of the last Claims and Objections period (which ended on June 9) and the unanimous decision of the Commission of its position on the matter, “did not go unannounced” by Cabinet.
He said that reservations have been made by the government, and other stakeholders, about “the extent to which disenfranchisement has been created.”
Dr Luncheon said that if those objections continue when the list is made final, and if the reservations continue and/or increase, “the call would be stronger” for something to be done to remedy this.

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