The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) today announced that it will commence a Claims and Objections exercise from next Monday to produce an Official List of Electors (OLE) ahead of Local Government polls.
The exercise will be conducted at all the GECOM permanent Registration Offices in the ten (10) Administrative Regions.
During the Claims and Objections period, any person who will be 18 years and older by the 31st October, 2022, and is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, or naturalization, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, can make a Claim on or before 11th September, 2022 to be included on the Elections list providing that that person was never previously registered.
GECOM is moving ahead with the process amid strong objections from the APNU+AFC which has held the view that a credible list can only be produced through a House-to House- registration process.
Last week, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton said he does not believe elections should be held without a detailed registration process.
But GECOM is moving forward with its plans.
“Persons desirous of making a Claim to be included in the OLE are required to visit the GECOM Registration Office responsible for their area of residence with the applicable source document(s) such as original Birth Certificate, valid Passport, Adoption Certificate, or Naturalization Certificate / Certificate of Registration to be registered for inclusion,” GECOM said in a statement.
In addition, the Elections body encouraged existing registrants to check the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) posted at two (2) prominent buildings in their respective Electoral Division / Sub Division, at the Registration Office responsible for their areas of residence, at GECOM’s Head Office or on GECOM’s website at www.gecom.org.gy to verify the accuracy of their registration information.
“In this regard, persons who are required to update their registration records such as changes or corrections to their names and occupation, or to apply for a transfer in relation to their addresses are advised that those transactions would also be facilitated during this exercise,” GECOM said.
The Commission added that relevant source documents such as an original Marriage Certificate, Deed Poll with Birth Certificate, or a new Birth Certificate reflecting the changes must be presented in the case of an application for a change or correction.
With GECOM finalizing the elections list, once other preparations are in place, local polls could be called before the end of the year.
The Opposition is maintaining that the List of Electors is bloated and is a recipe for confusion. All of the Electoral Missions that observed the 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana also believe there is a need to have a new Voter’s List.
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