Once general elections are set, the electoral watchdog, EAB says it will be prepared for its usual testing of the voters list and other activities.
Head of the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) Father Malcom Rodrigues told Stabroek News last week that the EAB had not been reactivated as yet since there has been no official word from the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) on when elections will be called. The Bureau is not a standing body and as such it would need a firm date prior to reactivation. The non-governmental EAB has monitored elections since the historic 1992 polls and has been lauded for the work it has done with vetting the voters list and other elections-related activities.
He said, “we haven’t heard anything specifically… we know the (current) debate over the quality of the list,” adding that until the EAB is provided with a copy of the list there is no way to make a comment on the quality of the current Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).
Rodrigues was speaking in the backdrop of the ruling People’s Progressive Party’s constant criticisms that the preliminary list may be padded. Gecom has rejected these concerns and says that it is confident in the accuracy of the list while noting that should any of the political parties find irregularities with the PLE at this stage they are to report them.
One of the most contentious issues has been the number of dead persons still on the PLE, however according to Gecom’s Deputy Chief Election Officer, Vishnu Singh the commission is bound by procedures which mandate that the only time a person can be taken off the list is if the General Register Office (GRO) provides a death certificate. The GRO falls under the purview of the Home Affairs Ministry headed by Minister Clement Rohee who is also the General Secretary of the PPP.
Persaud had previously told Stabroek News that having names of dead persons on the list does not affect the other checks and balances that are put in place during voting. He had said that Gecom was operating with an accurate PLE and that any and all discrepancies were being looked at. This was reiterated at a press briefing held by Gecom on Thursday to reject the allegations made against the PLE.
Rodrigues told Stabroek News that once the EAB is provided with the official list, 1,200 names are picked at random using a computer programme and EAB workers verify whether the persons are actually at the addresses listed for them and all particulars are in order.
Observers have noted that looking for dead persons on the list is not an adequate test of its accuracy considering the apparently poor transmission of death certificate information from the GRO to Gecom.
Gecom’s Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally has expressed concern that the GRO is still not a computerized system. Rohee during the PPP’s weekly press briefings has routinely blamed the elections commission for the number of deceased still not stricken from the PLE.
