The question of electoral reform in its broadest sense has attracted attention. A case has been filed seeking an order that an individual can contest elections without having to be on a list of candidates. The law was passed pursuant to the constitutional reform process in 2000/2001 but regulations to effectuate it, though promised, were never made. Currently, to be a candidate,a person must be named on […]
Category Archives: electoral reform
MANDATORY BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
The Chair of GECOM, Justice Claudette Singh, has decided that biometric identification as the sole, mandatory, means of identification in unconstitutional. Under normal circumstances, it would be expected that this decision would bring an end to the Opposition clamour for biometric identification and that its advocates would reorient their campaign for legal reform. Not so!
JAGAN’S LETTER TO GORBACHEV
In commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the PPP, I write about a little known event that formed part of the circumstances that shaped Guyana’s entry into the democratic fold of nations.
‘EXPLORE ALL TOOLS’ FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
What are these tools? I was a member of the Elections Commission for the 1973 elections. I was also a member of the Elections Commission for the 1992, 1997 and 2001 elections. I have witnessed first-hand the ‘tools’ used in the darkest days of election rigging in 1973, the incipient steps in 1992 to put […]
BLOAT AND BIOMETRICS
Guyanese are well aware of the Opposition allegations that the electoral list is bloated and needs to be ‘cleaned.’ In recent letters to the press, the Attorney General has pointed out, in a more direct manner than I have done in the past, that the electoral list cannot be bloated if the Chief Justice has […]