GECOM extends claims and objections period after PPP/C gives clearance 

Sep 15, 2022 News

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Kaieteur News – The ongoing Claims and Objections Exercise has been extended by seven days, to afford eligible persons further opportunities to participate in the process, the Guyana Elections Commission has said.

The decision comes days after the Opposition had protested what they said was a move to deny a request for the exercise to be extended as well as allowing the PPP/C to determine whether the extension should be granted. In a letter to this newspaper on Tuesday, Opposition-nominated commissioner, Vincent Alexander had said that the Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (rtd) Claudette Singh had once again shown her hand or rather her slip is showing. “At GECOM`s meeting, September 13, 2022, the APNU-AFC wrote to GECOM requesting an extension of the period for Claims because GECOM`s notice at its offices clearly stated that Claims and Objections would be conducted from August 22 to September 18, yet when persons turned up to make claims on September 13, they were told that the period ended on September 12, even as the notices outside of the offices continued to publicize September 18 as the last day for Claims and Objections.”

Alexander said this is a matter of entitlement to register and consequently, the entitlement to vote, “yet a PPP/C commissioner objected to an extension and another requested that the PPP/C be consulted before a decision is taken while essaying that he is not in support of the extension. This decision, apart from GECOM not taking responsibility for yet another administrative bungling, has opted to have the PPP/C determine whether citizens can realise their rights, even in the face of years of precedents.” Alexander added: “In the past, there was only one recourse- the deadline was extended and citizens were provided with the opportunity to register and overcome GECOM`s bungling, more specifically in this instance, the CEO`s bungling. Imagine the Judge lent her support to such an act.”

In its release on Wednesday announcing the extension, GECOM said persons who are desirous of making a Claim to be included in the Official List of Electors (OLE) have until Wednesday, 21st September, 2022 to do so. Similarly, persons who intend to object to the inclusion of names in the OLE have until Sunday, 25th September to submit their objection(s),” GECOM said in its release.

The Commission is reminding that persons who were never previously registered can make a Claim, provided that he/she is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, or naturalization, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more and will be 18 years and older by 31st October, 2022. In this regard, all eligible persons who intend to make a Claim 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 Naturalization Certificate / Certificate of Registration to be registered.

Existing registrants are also advised to check the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) posted at two (2) prominent buildings in their respective Electoral Division / Sub-Division, 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.

Further, objections against the inclusion of names in the PLE can be tendered to the Registration Officer of the Registration Area. Objection(s) can be submitted by an Elector who is listed in the same Division list / Sub-Division list in which the person being objected to is listed. Objections can also be made by approved Scrutineers of Political Parties provided that any such Scrutineer has monitoring responsibilities for the Division / Sub-Division in which the person being objected to is listed. The relevant original document(s) such as an original Death Certificate must be presented at the time of the hearing to support the basis upon which the objection is made.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission is urging all eligible persons to ensure that they use this extension to ensure that they are registered for inclusion in the Revised List of Electors (RLE) and ultimately, the Official List of Electors (OLE) as it is a prerequisite to be eligible to vote. Persons are also encouraged to object to the inclusion of the name of any person whom they believe should not be in the list, based on the legal provisions.

 

 

 

 

 

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