AG raises concerns about blackout for not supporting electronic voting
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—says current system working perfectly fine
Attorney General Anil Nandlall said while he is not opposed to technology, the manual system being used for voting is working perfectly fine.
He was addressing his audience on the concerns raised by the opposition in relation to the electoral process on Tuesday during an edition of his weekly programme ‘Issues in the News’.
“I am not opposed to any form of technology, but the manual system is working. Why you want to resort to technology, where things can go wrong in a country like Guyana? Where we can have a blackout on elections day and it damages some computer programme that causes that fingerprinting machine to malfunction? Why you want to expose us and our electoral process to such mishaps?…They want something like that to happen,” the AG said.
He noted that the opposition is suggesting biometrics and fingerprinting but Guyana already has biometrics in place, the AG questioned “if I Mohabir Anil Nandlall turns up at the polling station, I have my ID, my name is on the list, the folio that the GECOM staff has and all the polling agents have confirmed with my ID I am that person, the photograph is me, if I go and I put my finger on the machine and for whatever reason the machine malfunctions, you’re telling me that I would be denied my right to vote?”
In August this publication reported that the Alliance for Change is calling on the Chairperson of the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) retired Justice Claudette Singh to provide a comprehensive update on the measure that they are implementing to improve the electoral system from its current state. AFC Member of Parliament, Beverly Alert made this appeal during the party’s weekly press conference at its headquarters on Friday.
“The Alliance for Change (AFC) calls on the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to provide a comprehensive update on the measures being implemented to improve our electoral system,” Alert said.
She noted that following the 2020 elections, the discrepancies in the list contributed in no small part to the resulting stand-off. “There is no longer any public confidence in the integrity of the electoral list and unless every effort is made to find a solution, there will be continuing distrust in any electoral outcome,” the AFC MP added.
During the media briefing, Alert claimed that at the recent national elections, there were verified instances where votes were cast in the names of deceased persons, immigration records proving non-resident voters and other irregularities, hence there is an “urgent need for a more robust and transparent system.”
She went on to say that the commission has had sufficient time to review and audit the conduct of the 2020 elections. The MP posited that “A transparent dialogue on the adoption of new technologies is necessary to rebuild trust in the electoral process. GECOM must not remain silent or rely on occasional press releases. The nation deserves a clear and detailed plan of action. We urge the Chairperson to address these concerns openly and to implement measures that will ensure a fair, transparent, and credible electoral process in the upcoming 2025 elections.”
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