It is impossible to hold Elections by November, 2019 following House-to-House Registration

Dear Editor,

Astounded would be an understatement to describe my state of mind when I read the article titled `GECOM Chairman tells President elections can be held by November  – following house-to-house registration’ which was published in the online edition of Stabroek News of Tuesday, March 19, 2019.

Editor, in view of the contents of the very first paragraph of the article, and based on my knowledge and experience in the conduct of registration and election projects, I am compelled to make it unambiguously clear that it is absolutely impossible for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to hold General and Regional Elections by November, 2019 following a House-to-House Registration (HtHR) exercise.

In this regard, please allow me to delineate the crucial tasks, and their respective (approximate) timelines (cut very close), that will have to be completed from the point of commencing preparations for the conduct of training of temporary enumerators for the conduct of HtHR to Election Day as follows: –

TASKS                                                                                                       DURATION

• Shortlisting of applicants/training of Enumerators (starting now) –                  6

The closing date for submission of applications was 15/06/2019

• HtHR field operations seven days per week (Enumerators Completing Application Forms etc –                                                                                                            26

• Ensuring all transactions are accurately completed and

  received by GECOM Secretariat/inputting –                                                       4

• Cropping/dispatch of fingerprints for cross matching to check for duplicate registrations –                                                                                                       2

• Cross matching of fingerprints receipt of results –                                             1

• Sorting of registration forms associated with duplicates –                                 1

• Investigation of duplicates (about 800 emerged from the

2008 HtHR)/submission of Reports to the Commission –                                      4

• Commission’s examination of Reports/Approval for committal of all transactions to create a new National  Register of Registrants (NRR) –                                         1

• Printing and posting of Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) –                                  1

• Claims and Objections –                                                                                       4

• Ensuring all transactions are accurately completed and

   received by GECOM Secretariat/inputting –                                                       1

• Cropping/dispatch of fingerprints for cross matching to

• Check for duplicate registrations –                                                                     1

• Cross matching of fingerprints receipt of results –                                             1

• Sorting of registration forms associated with duplicates –                                 1

• Investigation from claims and objections

  /submission of Reports to the Commission –                                                       2

• Commission’s examination of Reports/Approval for

   committal of all transactions to create a new NRR –                                          1

• Printing and posting of Revised List of Electors (RLE) –                                      1

• RLE must (statutorily) remain posted for 21 days –                                             3

• Certifying the Official List of Electors (OLE) – Historically, this is done immediately after the expiry of the above 21 days.

• Notification to apply/application for/approval of Party Symbols –                   2

• Nomination Day-Election Day                                                                          5            

                     TOTAL                                                                                          68        

 

Please note that the difference in timeframes relative to the tasks associated with fingerprint cross matching following HtHR and Claims and Objections takes into consideration the likely numbers of duplicates that could be found.  As mentioned above, about 800 duplicate transactions were discovered from the 2008 HtHR exercise   Subsequent cycles of Continuous Registration and Claims and Objections exercises witnessed the emergence of far less numbers of duplicates which kept decreasing progressively.

Editor, please note that the above table addresses the key tasks only.  It is not all inclusive.  For example, the conduct of finger print cross matching could be delayed as a result of the vendor providing this service insisting on full advance payment necessitating the acquisition of quotations, going through the legislative procurement procedures, signing of contract etc.

I specifically did not include the production and distribution of National Identification Cards towards ensuring that all persons who are registered (during HtHR should it be done) and who would be eligible to vote receive their Cards before Election Day as this would not fall in the critical path of the comprehensive plan for the registration-elections projects.

I am certain that, should GECOM disclose its comprehensive work plan for the conduct of elections, starting from registration, the timelines will be more expansive than that which is outlined above.

In view of the foregoing, it must be crystal clear to all concerned that General and Regional Elections cannot be held this year, (much less in November of this year), as the sequel to a HtHR.  Instead, based on the above estimation, it will not be possible to have General and Regional Elections until June, 2020 at the earliest if HtHR were to be conducted.

On a related matter, I feel obliged to note that as far as I know, unless GECOM threw out its earlier decision that a HtHR Exercise will be held every 10 years, then it is patently false to declare that the Commission had taken a decision to have HtHR done every seven years. The decision for HtHR to be conducted every 10 years can be verified from the Concept Paper for Continuous Registration which was approved in totality and/or the relevant Minutes of the Statutory Meetings of the Commission at the time the Concept Paper was approved. I was Scribe to the Commission at the time this decision was taken.  And I am not aware that the decision was overturned.  I can be corrected.

Yours faithfully,

Vishnu Persaud

Former Deputy Chief Election Officer