The Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM’s) main office on High Street Georgetown was Tuesday picketed by more than 100 persons, including Members of Parliament.
Within recent days GECOM has come in for more attention given allegations of irregularities relating to the submission of documentation for the Local Government Elections (LGE) scheduled for June 12, 2023. Monday, 17th April was Nomination Day. Since then there have been numerous claims and evidence of the name of deceased appearing as nominators for candidates, one hand writing signing for more than five persons on a list of nominators, a United States-based Guyanese appearing as a nominator unknown to him, among other complaints.
GECOM is yet to speak on the issue publicly.
Christopher Jones, Opposition Chief Whip said if GECOM is serious about credible elections the agency would not oppose instituting biometrics to minimize voter fraud. According to him the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) benefits from the absence of biometrics and a clean voters list.
Carrying a placard which read “fraud is fraud,’ Jones said Guyana is witnessing a repeat of the voting irregularities as occurred in the 2020 General and Regional Elections (GRE), even before the LGE.
The Member of Parliament (M.P) said the opposition will continue to make the call for a clean voters list, biometrics, and the ABC [America, British and Canada] countries to get involved to avoid the social fallout occasioned by persons being denied the right to vote and acceptance of fraudulent votes.
Mrs. Cathy Hughes M.P, Chair of the Alliance for Change, said revelations the last couple of days suggest the electoral system is broken. Hughes touched on Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s apology to the daughter of a dead woman who appeared as a nominator on the list for a candidate in Berbice, a PPP stronghold. Whilst acknowledging Jadgeo’s apology to the family was appropriate, Hughes said that is not enough, and the matter needs to be investigated because it is tantamount to fraud.
According to Hughes it is “totally unacceptable that GECOM has said nothing unto now how they hope to remedy the problem” making known that “we are looking for trouble” by ignoring the pervasive problem.
Shadow Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Roysdale Forde S.C said “almost every single problem related to elections in this country stands and falls on Claudette Singh (Chairperson, GECOM].” He was forthright in calling for Singh to go.
Tracing her voting record, which has constantly toe the line with the PPP, the senior counsel said Singh failed to put in place measures to ensure a clean voters list and safeguard the integrity of the electoral process consistent with the electoral laws. “The greatest threat to this country and democracy, right now is Singh,” charged the MP.
Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Aubrey Norton, called the PPP “a criminal cabal.” According to him Singh holds herself out as a “tool of the PPP and has failed to hold credible elections” The entire electoral system is compromised said Norton and listed a litany of instances of electoral irregularities.
Whilst stating the Opposition has reported the matter to the Guyana Police Force, Norton said knowing the Force is compromised the opposition will have to take other measures to ensure the irregularities would be addressed. He stopped short of saying whether the opposition will go to court or has some other plan in mind.
Nina Flu-Bess M.P highlighted cases where persons signed as nominators but used thumb print to collect their pension, shut-ins’ names and signatures appearing as nominators. Since Nomination Day persons have come out and denied signing these forms and knowing of their names on the various lists. Flu-Bess has called on persons to check the list of nominators to ensure their names and signatures were not affixed without their knowledge.
Natasha Singh-Lewis M.P also added her voice. She noted the irregularities are evidence why the PPP does not want biometric. Guyanese efforts today are to seal the graves and ensure the dead do not vote, she stated. Going further, Singh-Lewis said Guyanese must understand that “enough is enough,” as she called on people not to take the issue for granted and speak out against the pervasive irregularities.
Attorney-at-law Darren Wade in adding his voice said it is important for the world to see what is happening in Guyana. “Fraud is fraud” he said and whilst the PPP has gotten away with pretending it is not engaged in irregularities, the evidence is clear for all to see.
