Congratulations to all!

Jul 27, 2019 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Guyana is in a better place because of the agreement reached yesterday by our two main political leaders, President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, on the appointment of a Chair for the Guyana Elections Commission.
The agreement brings to an end a long period of nerve-wracking tension. Just two days ago, it did not seem possible that any agreement would be reached. In fact, some persons who were invited to a meeting with the President were said to have been stunned by some of the things he said.
The President, however, has shown a willingness to compromise. He has done the right thing in agreeing to one of the names on the list submitted by the Leader of the Opposition.
I congratulate President David Granger for not insisting that any of his nominees had to be on that list. The agreement shows that it is possible for the two leaders to reach agreement if they have the political will to do so.
I congratulate the Leader of the Opposition for his patience in dealing with some of the most inexplicable suggestions ever made in our country’s political history. He must also be hailed for his political maturity in nominating at least two persons whom he has never seen eye-to-eye with. His decision to entertain suggestions from the President was a risk-taking measure which backfired in his face. But he has shown a willingness to compromise and to work through the process despite the hiccups.
I congratulate the soon-to-be-appointed Chairperson of GECOM, Justice Claudette Singh. She is a strong woman who can stand up to any amount of criticism. She has a huge task before her, the main one of which is how to balance the necessity of complying with the Constitution and at the same time ensuring a Voters’ List that is acceptable to all the contesting political parties.
House-to-house registration has commenced based on a proclamation issued by the former Chairman of the GECOM. That decision is now being challenged in the Court. No conservatory order has been issued. But the matter has not been withdrawn
There is no need to stop the house-to house registration, unless the court so demands. It should continue, but this does not mean that elections have to await its completion. In fact, there is no reason why a cycle of claims and objections cannot be launched immediately to sanitise the Voters’ List.
The two processes – house-to-house registration and a cycle of claims and objections – can be done simultaneously, the former for the long-term and the latter to hold elections in time for the September 18, 2019 deadline.
The PNCR will rant and rage over any decision to sanitise the list through claims and objections. The PNCR has been using the excuse that the existing list is corrupted with as many as 200,000 errors. It has yet to produce evidence of even one tenth of this amount
There is a simple way of dealing with this matter. A revised Voters’ List should be compiled using the processes which are in place to delete the names of the dead and include those persons who were registered prior to last November, and who have now reached the age of 18.
When this revised list is produced, a sample should be pulled from it and this sample should be tested to determine its accuracy. A rate of error of more than 15% cannot be cleared up by a claims and objections period. If there is a lower rate of error, then the list can be sanitised using a claims and objections period. In other words, the existing list should be revised and then verified.
This is how you approach problems. You establish a rational and scientific way of establishing the degree of flaws in the list. You do not go around saying that the list is bloated without conducting the necessary tests.
If the list can be sanitised by a claims and objections period, this would allow for the constitutional deadline of September 18 to be met. House–to-house registration can be continued, but the list generated from that exercise would not be used until the next local government elections.

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