The Chief Election Officer, Vishnu Persaud has denounced and distanced himself from the submissions of the Legal Counsel of the Guyana Elections Commission, Kurt DaSilva in the house-to-house verification case that is currently before the Acting Chief Justice.

In the case, PNC Reform Chief Scrutineer, Carol Smith-Joseph is asking the Court to order house-to-house verification of voters.

In his submission to the Court in representing the Elections Commission, the Attorney for GECOM stated that while residency verification may not be a requirement for the general elections, it would be a requirement for the regional elections.

However, in a Thursday night statement the Chief Elections Officer denounced the submission of the Commission’s Attorney said said the pronouncements of the GECOM Counsel do not follow his instructions to him and do not represent his position.

Mr. Persaud said the pronouncements by the GECOM Counsel were not only unauthorized, but were also disconnected from the matter before the Court. He said the Counsel’s pronouncements now lead to potential confusion and misrepresentation regarding preparations for the upcoming elections.

“It is crucially important for me to clarify that the Legal Officer was not acting on my instructions. In this regard, the unauthorized pronouncements conflicts with my positions as set out in the Affidavit I signed as a named respondent in the Court matter”, the CEO stated.

Persaud rejected the submissions of the Commission’s Legal Officer and said they are in total contrast with the manner in which the lists of electors and ballots have been prepared for decades up to the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

He said Mr. DaSilva’s pronouncements in the Court matter carry severe implications for preparations for the upcoming elections by creating uncertainty among stakeholders, including voters, political parties and international observers.

In his Court filing, the GECOM Counsel stated that the National Registration (Amendment) Act of 2022 has made it necessary for there to be separate Lists of Electors for the General and Regional Elections, as well as the need for the ballots for both elections to be printed separately.

“…It would now be necessary for ballots for General Elections and Regional Elections to be printed separately. It would also be necessary for separate Lists of Electors to be generated for the two elections, since some persons would qualify to be electors for General Elections but not be qualified to be electors for Regional Elections,” he said in his written submissions to the Court.

While Da Silva agreed that residency is not a requirement for persons to vote in the General Election, he submitted that residency is still a Constitutional requirement for Guyanese to vote in Regional Elections under Article 73(1) of the Constitution.

Article 73(1) says that “Members of a Regional Democratic Council shall be elected by persons residing in the Region and registered as electors for the purpose of article 159”.

It was noted that prior to the amendments in 2022, verification of residence was done for all persons seeking to be registered, so there was no issue with the ballots for both General and Regional Elections being on the same sheet of paper. However, due to the amendments, the provision is no longer applicable and must be addressed.

Related posts:

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