After weeks of criticism, Registrar General Greta McDonald has said that the General Register Office (GRO) did supply the confirmation of the death of late former president Arthur Chung to the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) in the month following his passing in June 2008, although he remains listed on this year’s preliminary list of electors (PLE).
Earlier this month, Gecom’s Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally confirmed that deceased persons were still listed on the PLE due to negligence by the GRO, which falls under the purview of the Home Affairs Ministry.
But in a brief statement on Thursday, McDonald said the GRO is deeply concerned with the views being expressed in the news media about its role in providing death returns to Gecom.
“The General Register Office is deeply committed to its moral support role to Guyana Elections Com-mission by supplying timely, on a monthly basis over the years a list of all registered deaths lodged at the General Register Office unto August 2014,” the statement said.
The statement included copies of hand written dispatch records for death returns from 2014, while one was issued in November 2013. No names were provided on the receipts delivered to Gecom.
The GRO remains “morally committed to providing via its competent, efficient manual system a monthly return of all registered deaths” to Gecom, McDonald added.
In the statement, McDonald said the death return of Chung, who died on June 23, 2008
