Gov’t asks Parliament for GYD$3.4 billion to hold elections

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 May 2019, 16:32 by Writer

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan on Wednesday asked Parliament to approve GYD$3.4 billion for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to conduct electoral polls, even as the country awaits a crucial decision on the validity of last December’s no-confidence motion against the ruling APNU+AFC coalition.

The supplementary funding request is expected to be debated and passed by the National Assembly next week.

The move comes as GECOM has to get ready in the event that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rule that the no-confidence motion was valid.

Already, GECOM says it is going ahead with house-to-house registration to extract a voters’ list to hold elections in November, 2019.

CCJ judges have remarked that GECOM should always be ready for elections to be held at anytime, given the provisions in the constitution.

GECOM’S Legal Officer Excellence Dazzell has advised the seven-member Commission and the Chief Elections Officer to revise the now expired national register of voters.

The list expired on April 30.

The bipartisan elections commission is divided over whether there should be house-to-house registration, with the three pro-coalition commissioners and Chairman Retired Justice James Patterson in favour.

The opposition People’s Progressive Party is opposed to house-to-house registration and has even moved to the High Court for the process to be quashed.