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Guyana’s oil funds can fund modernization of electoral system-AFC
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo (Guyana’s oil funds can fund modernization of electoral system)
Kaieteur News- The Alliance For Change (AFC) is of the opinion that Guyana’s oil funds can fund the modernization of the country’s electoral system, since the country is now in a better financial place.
Member of Parliament (MP) Beverly Alert on Friday during the party’s press conference, told reporters that “Guyana is now better placed with the financial resources to implement biometric identification and electronic voting. There’s no more excuse. If the VC is to be taken at his word, then he will follow through and honour the statements he made. He will instruct the PPP (People’s Progressive Party) commissioners on GECOM to pursue these systems. It can be done in time for the 2025 polls.”
The AFC member continued: “We at the Alliance For Change amplify our call for an improved electoral system ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections.”
She said given the utterances by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in the past about the need to modernize the electoral system, the AFC is expecting changes ahead of the 2025 polls.
The AFC is calling for a new voter’s list, the use of biometric voter identification at the place of polls and electronic voting. Alert told reporters that those are systems already called for, and identified by the PPP when in opposition, as necessary for free and fair elections.
The party played a clip of Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo calling for improved electoral systems during an interview on ‘Credible Sources’.
Alert said, “That was Bharrat Jagdeo making a call for the very same things that the Alliance For Change has been calling for. We remind the PPP General Secretary of his statements and if those systems were being argues for then the argument is even stronger now.”
The AFC member challenged the government to agree to the changes in the electoral system.
“No more hiding behind present electoral laws. Let us amend legislation that may be needed. The AFC will support appropriations to GECOM to capture biometrics and conduct electronic voting, we’re throwing down the gauntlet, time for the PPP to stand by its statements. Support the implementation of changes you advocated for and let us head to the polls and we will see who will win in free and fair elections,” the MP stated.
On August 04, Kaieteur News reported that the Alliance For Change is calling on the Chairperson of the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) retired Justice Claudette Singh to provide a comprehensive update on the measure that they are implementing to improve the electoral system from its current state. AFC Member of Parliament, Beverly Alert made this appeal during a press conference the party held.
“The Alliance For Change (AFC) calls on the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to provide a comprehensive update on the measures being implemented to improve our electoral system,” Alert said.
She noted that following the 2020 elections, the discrepancies in the list contributed in no small part to the resulting stand-off.
“There is no longer any public confidence in the integrity of the electoral list and unless every effort is made to find a solution, there will be continuing distrust in any electoral outcome,” the AFC MP added.
(Guyana’s oil funds can fund modernization of electoral system)
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