The Chairwoman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh, has made it clear that mandatory biometric identification is unconstitutional.
While she acknowledged the arguments for and against the introduction of biometric systems, she noted that implementing a digital fingerprint system in time for the 2025 elections would burden voters and staff who would need to be trained.
Yet, despite these clear explanations, the Opposition – the A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) continue to clamour for biometrics.
Furthermore, instead of respecting the Chair’s decision or even redirecting their effort toward constructive electoral reform, the Opposition is doubling down on its demand.
What is even more troubling is the WPA calling for the mobilising of protests in front of GECOM.
These protests not only undermine the authority of the Chair but also threaten to stoke unnecessary division and distrust in the electoral process – perhaps the only thing the Opposition knows about. Only yesterday, prominent political figure and attorney-at-law Ralph Ramkarran, SC, declared that the implementation of mandatory biometric identification is unconstitutional.
Even Ramkarran – an attorney who we would describe as a senior political figure – posited in his column ‘The Conversation Tree’ that one would expect the opposition clamour for biometric identification to have subsided and legal reform would have been on the horizon.
But not so. He even referenced the Esther Perreira Case, which gave the definitive decision in 2001. But hear what the plot is. The Opposition knows they will be defeated in the upcoming elections.
No one can stand with a clear conscience and say that the government policies and programmes have not changed their lives. The plot is to put pressure on GECOM.
If the Commission falls prey, it will use it as an excuse to run to the court, say many people were disenfranchised, and challenge the entire elections.
If the opposition truly believes in strengthening Guyana’s democracy, they should focus their energy on giving the government sound reforms within the bounds of the Constitution.
The Chair of GECOM has spoken. The law is clear. It is time for the Opposition to respect both.
