GECOM registers over 20,000 persons in two days

Just two days after commencing its House-to-House Registration, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has reported that over 20,000 persons have participated in the process.

The exercise, which commenced on July 20, covered communities across the 10 administrative regions of Guyana.

GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the high figure represents citizens’ receptiveness and understanding of the seriousness of the process.

“Registration is a legal requirement. It is facilitated under the Registration Act and therefore, it is mandated that once you have attained the age of 14, you should register to be part of the National Register of Registrants,” the Government Information arm quoted the PRO as saying.

According to the DPI, the Elections Commission has received information that some persons have been reluctant to participate in the registration exercise. These reports have emanated from communities in Regions 6 and 3, and some parts of Georgetown. The PRO is hopeful that with time, persons will come to understand the importance of the process.

“House-to-House Registration is a completely new registration exercise and even though you were previously registered and currently have an Identification (ID) Card, you are mandated to register again.”

The information therein will help the commission create a new National Register of Registrants Database.

The PRO placed on record that to be registered, persons must be at home.

“The focus is on the permanent place of residence, such as homes, homes for the elderly, homes for the youth and hospices among others.”

According to DPI, she explained that registration cannot be done at any shop, or supermarket, even if persons have their source documents in hand.

GECOM currently has 29 registration offices throughout the country. According to Ward, all the offices are in operation-mode for the exercise.

To supplement the main offices, the elections body has also established 262 cluster offices across the country that are being manned by Assistant Registration Officers (ARO).

According to Ward, GECOM was able to train over a three-month period some 8,000 persons across the country. Over 1,200 teams have already been deployed countrywide. More teams are expected to join the process shortly.

Field staff will be continuing the registration process from 8:00hrs to 17:00hrs on weekends and holidays and 15:00hrs to 19:00hrs on weekdays.

The registration process continues until October 20.