Latest update November 29th, 2024 1:00 AM
Opposition Leader claims foreigners being illegally registered; Granger refutes
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, has made claims that foreigners are being registered by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) during the House to House Registration process which started on Saturday, July 20, 2019.
President David Granger
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
He claims that his sources have informed him that some foreigners have already been illegally registered, and are being granted fake Guyanese birth certificates.
He’s not referring to just any foreigner, but foreigners who recently came to Guyana, since the law grants Commonwealth citizens the privilege of voting in Guyana’s election if they’ve been residing here for at least one year.
Jagdeo said that this alleged padding of the list could interfere with the credibility of the next General and Regional Elections. But so far, none of his claims have been backed by solid evidence.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has unwaveringly resisted the House to House exercise for months, and has contended that claims and objections would be a better strategy to produce a credible list for early General and Regional Elections.
During a press brief at the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday, President David Granger was asked for his thoughts on Jagdeo’s claim.
“That is incredible,” Granger said.
He said that the Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, has already cleared the air on the influx of Haitians to Guyana.
Minister Felix had, on Monday, said that it is apparent the intentions of some to sinisterly co-opt the news of the arrival of Haitians into a political narrative which sows discord among Guyanese.
The Ministry of Citizenship revealed that from January 2019 to July 30, 2019, there were 45,944 arrivals of Americans; 2,980 arrivals of Barbadians; 5,048 arrivals of Brazilians; 2,548 of British nationals; 12,259 arrivals of Canadians; 1,995 arrivals of Chinese; 41,272 arrivals of Cubans; 8,476 arrivals of Haitians; 679 arrivals of Indians; 2,900 arrival of Surinamese and 11,119 arrival of Trinidadians.
Minister Felix said that no concerns have been raised about these other nationalities, and called the response to the Haitian influx xenophobic.
The allegation of foreigners being allegedly used to pad the list had resurfaced when reports about Haitians coming to Guyana in large numbers made the headlines. Yet, the Opposition Leader claims that his accusation is not particularly referring to Haitians, but all foreigners.
The President said that Haitians are largely using Guyana as a conduit to travel to other countries, and that his understanding is that they are not going to be involved in influencing the elections, “nor would the Cubans, nor the Venezuelans”.
President doesn’t want Guyana to be a conduit for illegal migration
President Granger says Government doesn’t want Guyana to be used as a conduit for illegal migration.
He was at the time responding to questions about the migrant influx of the past few years.
Illegal migration occurs when foreigners enter or leave a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country that it left and/or entered, or the continued residence of people without the legal right to live in that country.
“We already have thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the country,” the President said.
“We are concerned about that. We know of the influx of Cubans. Suddenly, there seems to be a great concern about influx of Haitians.”
It is unknown how many of the aforementioned foreign nationals have been involved in illegal migration.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Fastest growing economy and an empty stadium
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- It’s a classic Guyanese tale, really. You live in the fastest growing economy in the... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
