ID cards accessible until polling day

Persons who are yet to uplift their new identification (ID) cards have until polling day to do so, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference, Luncheon said the decision was taken by the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) because approximately 40,000 persons have not yet uplifted their cards.

Luncheon, according to GINA, said that the issues of ID card distribution and disenfranchisement of eligible Guyanese remain the key focus of Cabinet with regard to preparations for the upcoming general and regional elections.  “The discussion on disenfranchisement reflected Cabinet’s ongoing concerns about the possible impact of the failure of the provision of the source documents to the eligible voters. Cabinet was convinced that the failure to provide those documents was preventing thousands of eligible voters from being registered,” Luncheon was quoted as saying.

“Subsequently, there was a revolving, broad-based consensus on addressing this issue and Cabinet anticipates a suitable response from Gecom to enfranchise those who are eligible,” GINA said.