|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Georgetown, Guyana — Vice President and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo reaffirmed his commitment to an updated and clean voters’ list during his recent press conference at Freedom House on Thursday. Jagdeo emphasized that ensuring an accurate list and implementing safeguards at polling stations are crucial for the upcoming 2025 elections, stating that “people cannot beat the system at the polling place” and should be barred from doing so.
Jagdeo proposed that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) adopt a proactive approach by working with the General Registrar’s Office (GRO) to comprehensively identify and remove deceased individuals from the voters’ list. He suggested that GECOM access GRO records spanning the last decade to efficiently update the voter registry, which he estimated could contain as many as “30,000 or 40,000” deceased persons. He called for immediate action, noting, “We are in favor of this.”
Jagdeo also revisited the topic of biometric verification to prevent impersonation at polling places, highlighting that he supports any system that ensures voter authenticity without causing unnecessary hurdles to casting ballots. He stressed that enhancing transparency with biometric checks at polling sites would further guarantee that only eligible voters participate in elections.
Responding to calls from opposition figures for a fresh start with house-to-house registration, Jagdeo criticized these demands, labeling them disruptive and an unconstitutional method of removing overseas Guyanese from the registry. He reiterated that since the residency requirement for voter eligibility was removed in early 2000, voters’ names cannot be legally deleted for residing outside the country. “The court ruled that house-to-house registration would effectively create a new list,” he noted, which he argued would disenfranchise eligible voters by making registration a residency requirement, counter to the constitutional mandate.
In a statement published earlier that day, the Joint Opposition —which includes the PNCR, APNU, AFC, and WPA—outlined its own stance, expressing firm support for comprehensive biometric verification. The Opposition highlighted that GECOM had recently begun discussing a feasibility study on biometrics prepared by its CEO. “We support the full implementation of biometrics throughout the election process,” the Opposition noted, detailing its position in favor of fingerprint capture during registration and fingerprint-based identification at polling places to prevent multiple registrations and identity theft. The coalition further expressed readiness to support constitutional or statutory changes as needed and urged GECOM to engage stakeholders directly as part of the process.
Jagdeo stressed that GECOM has already built a strong, transparent system, noting that the newly amended Representation of the People Act would require GECOM to publish all Statements of Poll (SOPs) before certifying the elections. “Every citizen now will see the SOPs long before the elections are certified,” he added, framing these requirements as essential steps for electoral transparency.
Despite Opposition calls for new voter checks, Jagdeo emphasized that the government remains steadfast in supporting robust reforms and a system that “works for every citizen of Guyana,” and is committed to seeing improvements enacted well before the 2025 elections.
