General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that he will be leading a team from his party to meet with the Guyana Elections Commission, (GECOM) next Tuesday to be updated on issues related to the Commission.

He said he will also use the meeting to debunk statements which have been made by the Opposition about the Commission’s readiness to host General and Regional Elections this year.

At a press conference on Thursday, Mr. Jagdeo said he disagrees with the Opposition’s characterization of the Commission not being in a place of readiness for the elections later this year. He brushed aside claims by the AFC that the Commission appears to be dysfunctional.

“So that is not a sign of dysfunction and the fact of the matter is the Chair was very explicit as to why she rejected biometrics so the allegation by the Opposition has been that there has been voter impersonation at the place of poll and that you have multiple voting taking place at the place of poll and they have provided absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support this,” Jagdeo said.

Mr. Jagdeo said it is important that GECOM understands where the PPP stands in relation to the issues which have been making their way through the Commission recently, including the calls by some for the introduction of enhanced biometrics.

“I thought it necessary as General Secretary of the PPP to meet formally with GECOM to express our views, so next Tuesday I will be meeting with GECOM to address these matters and to debunk some of the nonsense we see in the media as it relates to this matter.

Mr. Jagdeo has commended GECOM’s explanation as to why the introduction of enhanced biometrics would not be feasible at this time.

“They are trying to create an issue where there is none, GECOM’s ability to conduct the elections have been vastly enhanced and improved, in fact it is better now to conduct free and fair elections, they’d be a whole array of local and international observers to ensure that there are robust systems at polling places to prevent voters’ impersonation. So we have no fears about they (GECOM’s) ability to conduct the elections,” the Vice President said

The Elections Commission has said there is not enough time to introduce enhanced biometrics for this year’s elections. The Opposition has called on GECOM to provide the expert opinion it sought to guide the decision by the Chairman.

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