PNCR will accept election victory with bad voters list

Last Updated on Friday, 29 November 2024, 19:57 by Writer

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) would accept an election victory in next year’s general and regional elections even if Guyana goes to the polls with a voters list that that party insists lacks credibility but would not accept the results if it loses, Executive Member Ganesh Mahipaul said Friday.

He explained that much would depend on complaints that party polling day scrutineers would receive on Election Day, expected to be in October or November, 2025. “We will ensure that we populate every polling station with the scrutineers and also we will ensure that we have our eyes on the ground to ensure there is no unscrupulous behaviour and if that is not reported to us and it’s a smooth process, of course we will win,” he said when asked if the PNCR would accept the results emerging from an election without any of its demands.

Stressing that “credible elections come from a credible process and a credible process begins with a credible list” that must be mandatorily produced by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Mr Mahipaul said, emphasising that the PNCR and its coalition partners would reject the results of the 2025 general elections if it loses.

“If during the continuation from now to E-Day, we receive countless complaints, as we had in the past, and we continue to get the issues that we repeatedly talk about here manifest itself, then, of course, we cannot accept results if it’s based on those findings,” he said. He could not immediately say what steps would be taken.

The PNCR has been clamouring for a clean voters list through re-registration, digitalised fingerprinting during registration and identification at polling stations, and on Friday added the need for everyone to be photographed again because their facial features have changed. The opposition said those measures would eliminate voter impersonation and multiple voting because the already “bloated” voters list now stands at 718,715 names.

PNCR Executive Member, Elson Lowe said if his party wins the elections under the existing list, it might mean that it should have obtained more seats.