Acting Chief Justice, Roxane George on Thursday said Guyana’s electoral laws are “all over the place”, hinting at the need for further amendments to correct many of the troubling and confusing issues.

“The election laws are all over the place. It is very hard to manage, to navigate them,” she said.

Justice George made the observation shortly after delivering her ruling in the High Court case brought by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Chief Scrutineer, Carol Smith-Joseph.

The Acting Chief Justice ruled that verification of residency is not a requirement for inclusion in the National Register of Registrants, and by extension the Official List of Electors for both General and Regional Elections.  

“If someone who is Guyanese, but lives overseas comes to register, that person cannot be prevented from doing so as a citizen of this country. They would of course have to return to Guyana to vote, that accords with the address with which they registered. That would be their address claimed. The fact that they do not live here on a continuous basis does not permit their names to be removed from the Voters’ List, unless it is proven that they are deceased or otherwise disqualified and the provisions for removal of their name are followed,” the Acting Chief Justice explained.

However, she said she also agrees with Counsel for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Kurt Da Silva, that an anomaly arises when treating with Regional Elections in such a case.

“I agree with him that it creates an anomaly and as an officer of the Court he was correct to highlight it for the Court’s consideration,” Justice George noted.

The Acting Chief Justice said it is not for the Court to address the anomaly, but rather the issue should be addressed by the Parliament.

“I also agree that it is for Parliament to address this anomaly,” she said.

While relying heavily on Article 73 of the Constitution, which states that members of the Regional Democratic Council shall be elected by persons residing in the Region, GECOM’s Counsel, Kurt Da Silva argued that because of the amendments made to the National Registration Act in 2022, it would be necessary for there to be separate Lists of Electors for the General and Regional Elections, as well as the need for ballots for both elections to be printed separately.

The Acting Chief Justice, in her ruling said the creation of separate lists would result in “administrative difficulties.”

“Even if the Regional Elections are held separately, the fact remains that the List of Electors for this election is based on the Official List of Electors which must be prepared pursuant to Article 159 (1) and the legislation that operationalizes this constitutional vision,” she said.

Under Article 159 (1) of the Constitution, residency is not a requirement for inclusion in the list and or to vote in the case of Guyanese 18 years and older.

However, the Acting Chief Justice said it is unclear why the legislators included in the electoral laws, the need for addresses to be verified, when residency is no longer a requirement.

“Given the entire scheme and context of the various provisions, it is unclear why the legislator included that the registration or authorized officer is to visit addresses along with party scrutineers,” she said.

She maintained throughout her ruling that addresses claimed must be accepted by GECOM, and applicants must be included in the National Register once they would have met the Constitutional requirement.

The Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, thanked the Chief Justice for her ruling, while noting that it is of national importance.

“Thank you very much for once again reasoning very clearly and guiding this country at a very important juncture on a very crucial issue of public importance,” the Attorney General said.

In response, Acting Chief Justice George told the Attorney General that there is much work to be done, as she alluded to the state of the electoral laws.

Related posts:

High Court dismisses PNCR’s voter verification case Attorney General clashes with GECOM Counsel in Verification case; Acting Chief Justice delays decision to April 3 APNU’s case challenging LGE voters list thrown out by Chief Justice Dispute over funding for IDPADA-G is a national embarrassment; Acting Chief Justice urges mediation