Govt to file stay in GECOM’s plan to merge lists

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, September 11, 2019

The government, through the Attorney General’s Chambers, is moving to the courts to ask for a stay in the decision by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to merge the data gathered from the recently concluded House-to-House Registration with the existing National Registrar of Registrants (NRR).

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Basil Williams, SC., related this morning that his chambers will be filing the stay, the latest tomorrow, September 12.

“There could be no question of merging the current register with the new register. We will have to argue these things before the court of appeal. I have appealed that decision and we will file a stay of that decision between today and tomorrow.”

The Attorney General has already appealed the part of the CJ’s order on August 14, which said GECOM should not remove the names of any person currently on the National Register of Registrants.

Two weeks ago, GECOM announced that in light of the ruling by the Chief Justice, a decision was taken for the data garnered from that registration exercise be merged with the existing National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB). It said, the commission would also move to an extensive Claims and Objections Exercise (C&O) before extracting the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).