GECOM cannot contribute to amendment of RoPA without probing 2020 elections

GECOM cannot contribute to amendment of RoPA without probing 2020 elections – Opposition Commissioners

Feb 03, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Opposition Commissioners of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are of the view that the organisation cannot contribute to the amendment of the Representation of the People’s Act (RoPA), without first conducting an investigation to determine the weaknesses of the agency, which they believe should inform the amendments.

Opposition GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander

The three Opposition Commissioners – Desmond Trotman, Vincent Alexander and Charles Corbin – in a statement to the press yesterday said, “GECOM is in no position to objectively contribute to the process of amending the RoPA in the absence of an internal investigation of the 2020 elections to determine what are the manifest weaknesses of its system and operations.”
As a consequence, the Commissioners noted that cleansing of the voters’ list is nothing short of a “persistent demand” of major stakeholders which should be addressed.
“In that regard, the judgment in relation to House-to-House Registration should be clarified from the standpoint of its applicability to the voters’ list as distinct from the Register of Registrants. In like manner, relatedly or separately, the relevance and application of Regulation 40 of the National Registration Act should be determined,” the Commissioners added.
They were keen to note that the mechanism to allow for the cleansing of the voters’ list must be integral to the amendment of the electoral laws.
The Commissioners were adamant in their missive that the fact that there is no mechanism to ensure that a registrant who dies overseas can be removed from the voters’ list is sufficient reason to warrant such a mechanism. Furthermore, they said that the determination of the way forward should be guided by an investigation into the weaknesses of the Guyana Elections Commission.
In fact, the Opposition GECOM Commissioners concluded that their “suggestions should be treated as primary activities and foundational to the review of the proposed amendments and the comments provided by the Secretariat.”
According to the draft proposed changes, submitted by the government under the amended law, not only can the Chief Election Officer face hefty penalties for fraud, but other top officials within the elections machinery can face jail time for similar offences.
The amended law stipulates further, that “a person who obstructs an assistant agent or an alternate polling agent in the performance of his functions commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.”
Accordingly, the draft amendment recommends that any person who fails to follow the procedure set out in the new law in ascertaining or to ascertain the total votes cast in a district or sub-district for each list of candidates commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and imprisonment for life.
Additionally, it notes that any person who fails to deliver to the returning officer of district Region Four a true certified copy of the sub-district tabulation form or who delivers the sub-district tabulation form with falsified information commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and imprisonment for life.