Opposition raises concerns over ‘bloated voters list’ with Western Diplomats

Sep 06, 2022 News

---

Kaieteur News – When an Opposition team met with members of the Diplomatic Community last week, Alliance for Change ( AFC) leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, said that members of the foreign missions acknowledged statements they made following the 2020 elections, that a clean voters list should be provided to Guyanese before the holding of other elections.

Local Government Elections (LGE) could be held by early next year once a date has been provided to the Government from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).  Holding of the overdue local polls has therefore revived and intensified the conversation regarding a ‘clean voters list’, with the Opposition and other stakeholders demanding that GECOM provide Guyanese with a credible list of names as legally mandated. The issue however, is that GECOM, in relation to a High Court ruling by Chief Justice Roxanne Wilshire, believes that there is no way to remove persons’ names from the voters list unless they have died and with the relevant proof provided to support same, or are disqualified based on legal provisions specifying disqualification of a potential voter. In its interpretation of the High Court ruling, the Elections agency also believes that not even a house to house exercise will clear the bloated list since the court would have stated clearly how the names would be removed, and had highlighted in its ruling that not finding persons at a specific location during a house to house exercise could not justify the removal of their names.

GECOM has noted therefore that the High Court ruling was not challenged, and in light of that, new legislation may be required to denote other methods to allow for the removal of names from a perceived bloated list.

The Opposition, is maintaining that GECOM as the legal authority for elections must find a way to deliver a credible list despite the Court’s ruling. Ramjattan told the newspaper that the Diplomats acknowledged making the clean voters list statement in 2020, but that was as far as they went. The foreign mission paid keen attention to the concerns raised. “We mentioned the fact that not only they, but a lot of other local and regional observers made the same recommendations (for a clean list),” Ramjattan said, before highlighting that the only ones not making any progressive move toward a sanitised list is the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). And there can only be one conclusion drawn from that- that the list is going to support them (PPP) in doing their impersonation. “That is the opinion that we left them with that there is gonna be lots of impersonation when a list is so bloated,” Ramjattan said.

“I believe they (Diplomats) are very concerned about why there is no clean list,” Ramjattan continued. Despite being reserved in their comments, the AFC leader said that the Diplomats’ demeanor was clear on the issue especially since, “…they themselves recommended, the whole world recommended, and even the PPP after the 2015 elections, was saying that we have to go to the elections with a pure list.”

“I am aware that they are also very concerned about why the PPP don’t want to go that route (to get a clean list), not necessarily because of having the final product, but because of the fact that they feel that the Opposition could behave bad and the country could get strife as a result of (PPP) not wanting the list.” These are issues Ramjattan said may be concerning to the Diplomats who he believes may very well apply pressure in ushering Guyana toward an amicable resolution.

The Diplomatic Community has been part of Guyanese elections over the years, and has played an important role in assisting the country to carry out credible elections by observing the process. In fact, the Diplomatic Community is credited with playing a key role in disallowing the ‘theft” of the 2020 election and the “threat to democracy” when the current Opposition was accused of trying to defraud the General Elections to retain the Presidency.

Following that fiasco which saw the election running into several months before a winner was declared, the foreign missions made several recommendations including the need for a clean voters list. AFC Chairperson, Cathy Hughes was the one who brought up the 2020 recommendations at the meeting. In a Press Conference, she said that the Carter Centre, European Union, the OAS and Caricom, who monitored the 2020 election, stated unanimously, that a house-to-house registration process that will produce a new voters list is a fundamental requirement to electoral reform in Guyana. She went on quote the statements of some observer missions.

 

 

 

 

---

---