The new target date for the beginning of the house-to-house registration exercise is January 7, 2008 and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has assured the opposition political parties that it has not rescinded its decision to produce new ID cards for all persons captured during the exercise.
The parties were informed of the new target date at a meeting with GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally and commissioners on Tuesday. The parties had requested the meeting in the light of conflicting information, which made them seek certain assurances from the commission.
Surujbally also informed the party representatives that government has released $206M with parliamentary approval for the procurement of capital items which are essential for the exercise to begin.
He also advised that contracts for the procurement of most of the items have already been entered into in keeping with Central Tender Board procedures.
Surujbally said too that upon receipt of the digital cameras, in particular, the secretariat would require about 21 days to conduct training sessions with field staff at the district level on how to use the cameras.
It is in view of this as well as the approaching season, the statement said, that the adjustment of the commencement date of the house-to-house registration exercise was necessary.
In a statement yesterday, the commission’s Public Relations Officer Vishnu Persaud said Surujbally told the party representatives that the commission was very cognizant that the production and issuance of national ID cards to registrants was an inseparable aspect of the registration process. He also said that the commission is legally obligated to take action accordingly.
However, the statement said Surujbally underscored that the government’s preference of the production of “multi-usage” ID cards for all registered persons was a new dimension, which GECOM could not treat dismissively. “He emphasised that any consultations should conclude in time to allow for the production and issuance of ID cards, ‘multi-usage’ or otherwise, prior to Local Government Elections,” the statement said.
According to the statement too, Surujbally recalled that he had written to Gail Teixeira, who was acting as Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) and outlined several justifications for the production of new ID cards for all persons captured during the house-to-house registration.
Substantive HPS Dr Roger Luncheon, had made known government’s preference for the production of “multi-usage” ID cards for all registered persons.
Further, President Bharrat Jagdeo had, at a meeting with GECOM’s Chairman and Chief Election Officer, and Ministry of Finance staff, mentioned the need for a “multiple usage” ID card, which would include information important to other agencies like the GRA and the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), and that the availability of money for this purpose was not an issue.
The statement said Surujbally told the opposition representatives that if the commission was to go the way of the “multi-usage” ID card, technical staff from those agencies would have to come together to comprehensively analyze the proposal.
The statement said PNCR General Secretary Oscar Clarke spoke on behalf of the parliamentary opposition parties and expressed satisfaction that the commission had not abandoned its responsibility and also said the parties needed to be continually informed on relevant future developments and Surujbally undertook to do so.
In a brief comment to this newspaper yesterday, David Patterson, the Alliance for Change’s representative who attended the meeting reiterated that the parties were concerned and wanted to have the issues cleared up since many rumours were circulating. “So they have assured [us] that the ID cards will also be available before local government elections, for which a time has still not been set because the task force will have to do its work,” he said.
The parties were represented at the meeting by Clarke, Lance Carberry, Basil Williams and Amna Ally, Executive Members of the PNCR; Patterson of the AFC and Everall Franklin of GAP/ROAR.
