The Guyana Elections Commission has sought to put to rest the question of the feasibility for the use of biometrics at the place of poll at this year’s General and Regional Elections.

In a release this morning, GECOM explained that while its Chief Elections Officer, Vishnu Persaud’s feasibility study acknowledged the benefits of biometric fingerprint identification, there were several challenges highlighted.

The study highlighted the need for a high level of security, as the biometrics are unique to each individual, making it difficult for fraudulent activities such as impersonation or multiple voting to occur, and that it offers a more accurate method of voter identification compared to traditional methods like ID cards or signatures, thereby reducing the chances of errors in the electoral process among others.

GECOM said too that the study highlighted several challenges such as technical challenges, data security concerns, inclusivity issues, legal and ethical concerns, operational and infrastructural challenges, among others.

The feasibility study also outlined cost implications, inadequate voter education, allegations of manipulation, resistance by political parties and public trust as challenges.

Notwithstanding the benefits and challenges of biometric technology, the Commission said it must be emphasized that within the context of Guyana, there is no legal provision and therefore, any such introduction at the place of poll would be unconstitutional since it will impose additional conditions on a person’s right to vote.

GECOM said it was against  that backdrop and having considered the deliberations at the Commission that the Chairman decided that even if GECOM were to implement biometrics as a supplementary tool to identify persons, it will still require legislation since such a system would impose an additional requirement on voters and would therefore be unconstitutional.

Last week, the GECOM Chairman, Justice Claudette Singh, ruled that biometrics was not feasible because of time constraints among other considerations.

The Parliamentary Opposition, APNU+AFC, has rejected the decision of the Chairman and said it believes that enhanced biometrics could be possible in time for the upcoming elections.

In fact, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton has challenged the GECOM Chair to publish the study and expert advice that guided her ruling on that the use of biometrics was not feasible.

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