PNCR welcomes start of house to house registration

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the largest party in the Coalition Government, has welcomed the start Saturday of national house to house registration to prepare a new list for general and regional elections.

The process will stretch towards the end of October this year. The process will make elections impossible by September 18, which will mark the end of the three-month constitutional deadline for elections.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had ruled that its June 18 ruling set the constitutional clock ticking again after being put on pause by the legal challenges to the December 21 No Confidence motion.

The Court had ruled that the motion was properly passed and the constitutional consequences were thus triggered – namely the resignation of the Cabinet and elections in three months.

The decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to commence house to house registration from Saturday is “completely consistent with both the Constitution and the CCJ’s ruling that we need to hold fair and credible elections in the shortest possible time,” Ronald Bulkan, the PNCR’s Treasurer stated Friday morning.

He said that proceeding with an election using the list that expired on April 30 would not result in credible elections.

Bulkan restated claims that the list is bloated with 200,000 names of people who are not eligible.

“This makes the list susceptible to massive voter fraud,” Bulkan charged.

He claimed that the No Confidence motion was an attempt to “disrupt our term.”

He said the PNCR respects the decision of the CCJ but believes the No Confidence motion was “a sham with widespread allegations of manipulation to influence the outcome.”

“We believe that this vote did not and does not represent the will of the people,” Bulkan stated.

The Opposition People’s Progressive (PPP) says the move towards house to house to house registration is a ploy to delay elections within the constitutionally prescribed time of three months.

The PPP believes a short Claims and Objections period allows for new persons to be registered and for dead persons to be weeded out.

Bulkan said that if elections are not held by September 18, the country would be in a “grey area” but it doesn’t change the fact that the way towards an elections date depends on the advice GECOM gives the President.

As far as Bulkan and the PNCR is concerned, the move to house to house to house registration – which will drag on way beyond the constitutional deadline – is an “independent decision” of GECOM.