GECOM considers APNU+AFC’s request for extension of Claims and Objections

Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 September 2022, 19:14 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will Wednesday decide whether to give into a request by A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) for the extension of the Claims and Objections period of the continuous registration process, Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud said Tuesday.

“The issue was discussed was today (Tuesday) at the statutory commission meeting. It will be revisited tomorrow at a commission meeting. No decision has been taken as yet,” he said.

APNU+AFC Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith-J0seph on Tuesday, 13th September formally asked GECOM Chairman Retired Justice Claudette Singh to extend the period because of an apparent confusion over the dates for the entire process that ends on September 18, 2022. She said she, a number of scrutineers and members of the public have seen banners outside GECOM’s offices indicating that claims and obhections are due to end on September 18, 2022.

“As a consequence, some members of the public have approached registration offices this week only to be told that the deadline for claims was September 11,” she said. She said those persons who wanted to make claims have been “misled”.

Ms Smith-Joseph contended that those persons have been denied the opportunity to make a claim although GECOM’s notice on its banner led them to believe that September 18 is the deadline.

GECOM’s advertisements state that Claims and Objections would last from August 22 to September 18, with Claims to be included in the list scheduled to end on September 11 and Objections would conclude on September 15.

After a claim is made, the public is given an opportunity to file objections and subsequent hearings to be held and then a day is provided for appeals.