Latest update December 16th, 2024 9:00 AM
Dissecting the “National Registration (Amendment) Act 2007” in context
DEAR EDITOR,
The Saga of the unconstitutionality of the GECOM chair coupled with the validity of the NCM which entails elections within three months as ascertain by the CCJ, versus the call by the Coalition for house to house registration, is nothing more than a continuous delaying tactic of the Coalition. The fact that the CCJ ruled that the appointment of Patterson by the president was unconstitutional, makes every decision that Patterson made during his perceived tenure as Chairman null and void. This would include his initiation of the start of house to house registration. The president thanking him for his contribution at GECOM when he demitted office a while ago is a “thank you” for nothing.
The “National Registration (Amendment) Act 2007”, had clauses instituted to: “obtain as far as practicable the application for registration of every person, who is on the appointed date of the age of fourteen years or above for the purpose of ascertaining every person qualified for registration to have his name included in the National Register of Registrants.” Why have citizens name on the “national register of registrants” at age 14 when one can only vote after attaining the age of 18? Clearly, the intent was to have a system of continuous registration to update the Official list of Electors from the “national register of registrants”. The amendment to the 2007 Act further added, “(1) The Commissioner shall establish a central register which shall consist of a computerized database of the information of the originals of the registration records and the originals of all persons registered under the house to house registration process mentioned in section 6, and the data so generated shall be utilized to effect the continuous registration process.” Meaning to update the OLE from the 14 to 18 years age group, when an election date is set, as they become eligible to vote. It is ludicrous for the government to construe, “to effect the continuous registration process” as meaning house to house registration when nothing of this sort was done for the last four elections.
The last two general elections and two local government elections were held without any house to house registration and any complaint from any of the political parties after 2007- on OLE’s updated from the” National Register of Registrants”. The fact that the last OLE from the 2018 LGE was deemed by GECOM’s CEO, Keith Lowenfield, to be valid up to March 31st 2019, makes it evident that the OLE now sought for the impending general elections could be updated without house to house registration.
How many youths will be attaining the age of 18 after March 31st 2019 to 3 months from the date of CCJ’s decision that the NCM was validly passed? Fifteen to twenty thousand is a conservative estimate! The names of the dead on the list is of no significance, since the dead has no power to exercise their franchise.
The CCJ should take note of the National Registration (Amendment) Act and not the spending of $720 million so far on house to house registration as pontificated to the CCJ by one of the Coalition’s Lawyer in seeking leniency in the CCJ consequential decisions. The decision to unnecessarily spend $4.5 billion on house to house registration to lengthen the life of the Coalition was the work of an illegal and unconstitutional chairman of GECOM.
The president remark that the list contains some 200,000 incorrect entries is simply blowing hot air towards his grand purpose – delaying elections by calling for house to house registration.
Rudolph Singh
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Exporters are being left to fend for themselves
Exporters are beIng left to fend for themselves Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has a new... more
Let the asylum seekers go: a first step for Venezuela to rebuild relations in the Americas
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – The government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela has steadfast support from many... more
Weekend Cartoon
