GECOM observes disparities in cross-matched data

Nov 27, 2019 News

– to question overseas supplier

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has noticed striking disparities in the cross-matched data that has returned from the overseas supplier, according to Commissioner Sase Gunraj.

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

Gemalto, an international digital security company, was contracted by GECOM to cross-match the house-to-house data.
Both tranches of data have returned and they appear to indicate that there are about 60,000 total new registrants. This unusually high figure prompted the Secretariat to conduct its own assessment of the cross-matched data.
Gunraj said Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, indicated to the Commission that the Secretariat has found about 17,000 of those supposedly new registrants already on the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB).
One would take that as an indication that the cross-matching job was flawed. But Gunraj said that he doesn’t know that it’s a mistake of the company.
GECOM has decided that it will reach out to Gemalto in the hope that the company provides answers.
Gunraj said that this matter places even more doubt on the use and integrity of the house-to-house data, which he has questioned for some time. GECOM still has not decided how it will go about merging the house-to-house data with the preliminary list, and the data gathered during Claims and Objections.

GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander

Commissioner Vincent Alexander told reporters that GECOM will also have to do its own further investigation of the names on the preliminary list which the cross-matched data has pegged as “new” registrants.
Otherwise, GECOM is also contending with the fact that a very small portion of unverified registrants have come forward to claim their identities. Alexander said that of about 18,000 persons whose names were published in the daily newspapers, approximately 300 have uplifted their ID cards.
Alexander did not appear worried that this may indicate that most of that group is apathetic about collecting their ID cards. He reiterated his contention that deaths not reported to GECOM likely number in the thousands, and that those deaths are a significant portion of the registrants with uncollected ID cards. He said that it likely consists of many dead persons residing both locally and overseas. He said that if you consider that, then the low collection rate is not that alarming.

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