The Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission has indicated that while the Commission will go ahead with the publishing of the names of over 20,000 persons who have not collected their ID Cards in since 2008, those persons will still be allowed to vote if they show up on elections day with some other form of identification. 

Appearing on Kaieteur Radio last evening, GECOM Chairman, Justice Claudette Singh clarified that the Commission will not include the names of the persons on the Official List of Electors, but rather, their names will appear on a supplemental voters list that will be posted at polling stations. 

If on elections day, they still would not have collected their ID cards, they will have to show up at the polling station with some other form of Identification if they want to vote. 

“Your name will be taken off the OLE (Official List of Electors) but your name will still remain on the National Register of Registrants database. And it is from that database the Preliminary list was extracted. The names will be there, but we will remove them from the OLE and put them on a Supplementary List that will be hanging there. So if on Elections Day, one of those persons turn up to vote, they will be allowed to vote once they come armed with maybe a passport or some form of identification. It is not the intention of GECOM to disenfranchise anyone”, Justice Singh said.

Polling agents will be armed with additional documents that will contain the name and photograph of all voters including those who did not uplift their ID Cards.

The Elections Commission is expected to publish the names of the over 20,000 persons in the local press this weekend. Additionally, registered mails will also be dispatched to them at their listed addresses. Persons will have 21 days to appear at a GECOM office to uplift the cards. Failure to do so will result in the name being removed from the list but placed on the Supplementary List.

Already some political watchers are raising questions about the legality of having a supplemental list along with the Official List of Electors.

The GECOM Chair is expected to further clarify the issue this morning when she hosts her first press conference.

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