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“I will resign when I am ready” – GECOM chair unfazed by opposition criticism
Kaieteur News – Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice Retired Claudette Singh has said that the GECOM is moving swiftly towards Local Government Elections (LGE) in the face of claims by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) of a bloated elections list and calls for her resignation.
Justice (Ret’d) Singh was at the time responding to reporters on the sidelines of the swearing-in of the newly appointed Commissioner of GECOM, Clement Rohee on Tuesday.
In fact, Justice Singh appeared unfazed by the allegations of the Opposition that she favours the Government in her decisions.
GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh
“I am not aware that I do something like that, anything I do, I do in accordance with the law. I try, as a former judge, I always try to uphold the rule of law but there will be criticisms,” said Justice Singh.
She continued, “if you sit on the bench and make an adverse decision, the party who loses would say you’re biased, you take a bribe whatever but that’s it so there’s always a way you can criticise a decision, that’s up to them.”
The GECOM Chair also responded to claims by the Opposition that the electoral list is bloated and should be used in the elections.
She noted that GECOM is in its continuous registration process and heading to its claims and objections exercise, in anticipation of the Local Government Elections (LGE) which is expected to be held by year-end.
“If the list is bloated, well, we are moving now to claims and objections and people would have a chance to object to who is not supposed to be there,” she said.
She stressed that the names on the list were legally registered and the claims and objections exercise would allow persons to object to any irregularities.
In a statement, GECOM announced that the claims and objections exercise will commence on August 22, 2022 in accordance with Order No. 35 of 2022 made under the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08, to produce an Official List of Electors (OLE). This exercise will be conducted at all the GECOM permanent Registration Offices in the 10 administrative regions.
During the claims and objections period, any person who will be 18 years and older by the October 31, 2022, and is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, or naturalisation, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, can make a claim on or before September 11, 2022 to be included on the OLE, providing that he/she was never previously registered.
According to the Commission, persons desirous of making a Claim to be included in the OLE are required to visit the GECOM registration office responsible for their area of residence with the applicable source document(s) such as original birth certificate, valid passport, adoption certificate, or naturalisation certificate/certificate of registration to be registered for inclusion.
Existing registrants are advised to check the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) posted at two prominent buildings in their respective electoral division/subdivision, at the registration office responsible for their areas of residence, at GECOM’s Head Office or on GECOM’s website at www.gecom.org.gy to verify the accuracy of their registration information.
In this regard, persons who are required to update their registration records such as changes or corrections to their names and occupation, or to apply for a transfer in relation to their addresses are advised that those transactions would also be facilitated during this exercise. The relevant source documents such as an original marriage certificate, deed poll with birth certificate, or a new birth certificate reflecting the changes must be presented in the case of an application for a change or correction.
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