GECOM to mull over introducing biometrics before stakeholder input

Last Updated on Friday, 22 November 2024, 22:22 by Denis Chabrol

As the number of eligible voters is set to surpass the latest figure of 718,715 and further fuel opposition calls for a clean list and digitalised fingerprint registration and identification of electors at polling stations, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Claudette Singh on Friday said the commission needs to figure out whether it can introduce that biometric system.

“Having listened to the submissions from the Commissioners, who were equally divided on how to proceed with the matter and based on my own examination of the feasibility study, I took the position that it was important for GECOM to have an understanding of and the position on its capability to introduce the system before going to the stakeholders because this absence of such an understanding and position would lead to GECOM appearing unprepared, uninformed and unable to properly address this highly sensitive matter,” she told a news conference.

She said after such a discussion which continues next week, then GECOM should consult with stakeholders on whether the digitalised biometric system should be introduced.

The Feasibility Study by Chief Elections Officer states that stakeholders—voters, candidates, political parties, Civil Society Organisations—should be confident in the reliability, accuracy and inclusiveness of the voter registration exercise.

Retired Justice Singh said the seven-member commission failed to reach agreement on how the discussion should proceed, with one view being that the stakeholder consultation was necessary before they could fully discuss the matter itself as the stakeholders’ views would need to be taken into account. Another view, she said, was that the commission could begin discussion of the matter while simultaneously holding consultations with stakeholders and the feedback could be considered in the commission’s discussions. Thirdly, there was an option for the commission to discuss the matter first before the stakeholders could be consulted and in what form.

GECOM’s Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Aneal Giddings said the list of eligible voters now totalling 718,715 would increase for the 2025 general and regional elections because registrations in November 2025 have not yet been included. At the March 2, 2020 elections, 464,565 votes were cast out of a total of 661,378 eligible voters.

On the thorny issue of the need for a clean voters list, the GECOM Chairman is relying on a 2019 High Court decision, which was not appealed, that names could not be removed from the voters list and list of registrants if they are overseas unless there is proof that those persons died. Justice Singh said only legislation could facilitate the removal of names from the lists because that High Court decision was never appealed and is now law.

The Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud said GECOM has been using information from the General Registrar’s Office to flag the names of deceased persons that are removed from the voters’ list but kept on the National Register of Registrants. In keeping with an amendment to the Representation of the People Act, Mr Persaud said the Chief Medical Officer and the Police Commissioner had submitted the names of 1,018 persons who died from January to April 2024. He said those names have not yet been verified because GECOM has not yet approved the methodology to do so.