Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton on Friday called on the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission to provide the basis or expert advice that informed her decision that enhanced biometrics cannot be introduced in time for this year’s elections.  

Mr. Norton said his party has taken note of the GECOM Chairman’s decision and completely rejects it.  He said the Opposition has been pushing the issue since 2020, so the Chairman must take the responsibility for not addressing it in a timely manner.

“The PNC/R rejects her decision as uninformed, irresponsible, dubious and conniving. First it is an act of dubiousness for Justice Singh to now use lack of time as an excuse when table on GECOM’s agenda soon after the 2020 General and Regional Election. Since then, she made no effort to facilitate a full discussion of the issue in accordance with the constitutional mandate of the Commission,” Mr. Norton said.

He called on Guyanese to raise their voices in protest of the decision by the GECOM Chair and said his party will continue to press on the matter since it believes that biometrics is still feasible and can guarantee credible elections this year.

“We hereby call on GECOM to seek proposals from expert firms on using fingerprint biometrics in Guyana for registration and voting. Advertising in the local and international media, submission of proposals, and evaluation should take no more than 4 to 5 weeks. This is the only acceptable basis that GECOM and stakeholders can have a shared understanding of the timeframe and other issues involved and to make knowledgeable decisions,” the Opposition Leader said.

Mr. Norton said the integrity and credibility of the next elections cannot depend on the uninformed and inexperienced reflections of the GECOM Chair and every decision has to be driven by science and not a personal choice of the Chair.

He reflected on the voting pattern of the GECOM Chair at the Commission, and said it is be impossible for the Chair, who has no training in technology, to say the use of technology at the elections is not possible.

In her decision against the introduction of enhanced biometrics for the elections,  Justice Singh noted that with less than a year to go before Elections, and given the number of tasks that would need to be done before such a system can be properly introduced, and all of the work already required to prepare for General and Regional Elections, she is convinced that the introduction of biometrics is not feasible within the time presently available.

She also explained that in relation to the registration process, the fingerprints of applicants are currently taken manually, but the National Registration Act empowers the Commission to determine from time-to-time, procedures for the acquisition and electronic processing of data.

She said “it is obvious therefore that, in this regard, there is nothing in the law or otherwise preventing the introduction of a system where such fingerprints are taken digitally, since it is the Commission that is empowered to determine such procedures”.

However, Justice Singh said that apart from the necessary elements of implementing such a system, such as the procurement of equipment, training of personnel and education of the public, there is still the need for the Commission to address other issues, such as ensuring that there is adequate legislation pertaining to the security of prints.

In relation to biometric identification at the place of poll, she said there is legal provision for fingerprints of voters to be compared with that on their identity paper which equates to the National Identification Card. However, she said the only ID Cards are issued to persons who could not sign, carry the fingerprint of the registrant.

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