Opposition maintains enhanced biometrics needed for upcoming Elections

Maintaining that enhanced biometrics should be used during the course of the upcoming Elections, Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton today rejected a position by the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), that the implementation of digital figure print capture, cannot be done simultaneously with preparations for the elections.

At a press conference, the Opposition Leader said the Elections Commission should move ahead with the hiring of a technical consultant to offer advice on the introduction of digital figure print capture, as he rubbished Justice Singh’s position that the consultant should be hired after the elections.

“The Opposition rejects this latest proposal as inadequate and unacceptable. The GECOM Chair is acting as a bias arbiter, when she should be seeking consensus, and is causing Guyanese to raise questions about her competence, integrity and courage,” Norton said.

The Chair of the Elections Commission, in justifying her position, explained that it would be difficult to implement the digital project simultaneously with preparations for the elections. Aside from logistical challenges, she said there must also be technical and financial considerations, and political and social acceptance of the proposed project.

But the Opposition Leader said the Election Chair lacks the technical competence to pronounce on the implementation of biometrics technology and project management.

“The GECOM Chair lacks the technical know-how to make such a critical decision. We remain resolute in our stated positions that: the integrity and credibility of the next elections cannot be held hostage to the bias, and arbitrary decision of the GECOM chair when she lacks the requisite technical knowledge to do so; her ruling against the use of biometrics in the next election was totally devoid of any technical input from relevant experts and therefore remains deficient and unacceptable,” Norton said.

Mr. Norton said instead of “dancing” around the issue, GECOM must seek proposals from expert firms on using fingerprint biometrics in Guyana for registration and voting.

He said GECOM needs the expert advice before it shuts the door on the issue for the upcoming elections.

The Opposition has been pressing for enhanced biometrics for elections in Guyana for more than three years.