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Ranks requested to submit ID numbers is nothing new – police

Nov 09, 2011 News

 

There is nothing sinister about ranks of the Guyana Police Force being asked to submit their national identification numbers. This is according to a senior officer of the force in response to concerns raised by the Alliance For Change (AFC) that law enforcement officers were asked to submit ID numbers to superiors.
“They have informed us that they have been asked to give their identification numbers to superior officers and this is a totally unacceptable position for any of these officers to be put in to,” Cathy Hughes of the AFC told a press conference last week.
According to the Executive Member “they have expressed their dissatisfaction and they have been questioning why they are being asked to do this…”
But the senior police officer who asked to remain anonymous told Kaieteur News that the submission of identification numbers by ranks is nothing new.
He explained that members of the military comprise a separate list of electors since they will be voting on November 21, one week before the rest of the population exercise their franchise.
This is to ensure that the security forces are free to carry out their duties on Elections Day.
With this in mind, the administration of the Guyana Police Force usually takes the initiative to ensure that its ranks are not disenfranchised by verifying that their names are on the military voters’ list.
To facilitate this, the officer explained that the ranks are asked to submit their identification numbers.
“We do not ask them for their ID cards but we are ensuring that our ranks, Special Constables and Neighbourhood Police are eligible to vote, and all police ranks are required to provide their ID numbers to facilitate this process. There is no ulterior motive. We have been in constant contact with GECOM to verify the list,” the officer explained.
“We want to be free on Elections Day and the police administration is ensuring that this is the case. This has been done before, it’s nothing new,” he added.
Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in a press statement issued on Saturday last, claimed that there have been reports of widespread purchase of ID cards from registered voters.
The APNU in its statement said that it is “bringing to the attention of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the Guyanese public the persistent reports of PPP Activists, in every Region of Guyana, offering substantial monetary bribes (sums of $15,000 and above have been quoted).”
The statement said that there have been other inducements to Registered Voters to surrender their National ID cards to the PPP activists until January 2012.
“It is not surprising that in this atmosphere of widespread and pervasive poverty which has been created by the PPP/C Administration, some persons have already surrendered their ID cards.”
According to the statement, too, it is unfortunate that reports have also been received that in a number of Governmental institutions and agencies, including the Disciplined Forces, staff are being coerced into surrendering their ID cards to their superiors.
“Any questioning of this activity is being met by the use of institutional harassment of the objecting member of staff.” This activity, according to APNU, represents a major threat to the conduct of Free and Fair Elections since these persons are being denied their Constitutional right to cast their vote for the Party of their choice.
“It is evident that the purchasing of these ID cards is for sinister purposes which would have a direct impact on the process of holding Free and Fair elections,” the statement added.
The PPP/C in a statement issued last evening rejected what it described as another act of desperation by the APNU. According to the statement “the PNC, now APNU, is certainly in a state of pure confusion and panic as in addition to resorting to lawlessness and disruption, it has embarked on a campaign of spreading lies and misinformation.”

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