The Opposition APNU+AFC coalition met virtually with the Guyana Elections Commission on Tuesday and while describing the meeting as “cordial”, the Opposition said GECOM needs to start working on its reforms.
The Opposition was represented in the meeting by PNCR Chairman, Shurwayne Holder, PNCR General Secretary, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, AFC General Secretary David Patterson, and AFC Executive Member Cathy Hughes.
GECOM was represented by its Chairperson Ret. Justice Claudette Singh along with the CEO Vishnu Persaud and all of the Commissioners.
In a statement, the Coalition expressed the view that the country’s electoral system requires substantial reforms. The Opposition warned that the Elections Commission should not engage in any new elections without those reforms in place.
“The Coalition further stated that those reforms must benefit from international best practices and are geared at producing credible results that will have public acceptance,” the release from the Opposition said.
Additionally, the Opposition team said it also raised concerns about a series of issues surrounding the current Continuous Registration Process.
“These included, among many other issues, lack of public information on Continuous Registration, breaches in GECOM processes, lack of consistency in the standard operating procedures at various offices. The coalition highlighted the specific case of birth certificates being used with varying features, while GECOM did not seem to have any mechanism in place to confirm their authenticity,” the Opposition said.
The Opposition coalition also said it told the Commission of breaches in the hiring process and breaches in the process of issuing ID cards.
“Based on these and other concerns, the Coalition expressed a lack of confidence in the continuous registration process, but, however, pledged that its Scrutineers will continue to be present at the various offices to police the process with the aim of protecting the interest of all Guyanese,” the Opposition said.
The coalition has noted that the Elections Commission has given its commitment to deliberate on the matters raised and to conduct thorough investigations as well as to share its findings.
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