GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Nov 15, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton Tuesday dismissed a suggestion by the British High Commissioner, Jane Miller, that the existing voter’s list could be used with current safeguards for the Local Government Elections (LGE) scheduled for early 2023.
“The British High Commissioner must not be allowed to go against the wishes of the Guyanese people,” Norton told a news conference, adding that “while we pursue good relations with all countries, we are committed to ensuring our decisions are made by the people of Guyana, and therefore we abhor the attempt by any diplomat to impose their will on the people of Guyana.”
Last weekend, Miller said Guyana’s voter’s list was being updated and could be used to hold general elections with sufficient safeguards in place and that, based on existing rules overseas, Guyanese could not be taken off the national database of registrants.
“Anywhere in the world, you got to make sure your voter’s list is regularly updated, and that is what’s happening here, so always the people who have died and people who moved out the country or whatever, you need to make sure it’s regularly updated, and that’s the most important thing,” Miller told Demerara Waves Online News.
The British diplomat told the online publication that she understood that the United States, Canada, and the European Union all want to see that the voter’s list is properly updated and that “there are mechanisms in place on the day of voting to make sure that people are turning up only once and that they have identification that is on that list.”
But Norton, whose People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is the biggest partner in the opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), told reporters that the Guyanese people “have long concluded that the present voter’s list is bloated and therefore we need no one to tell us that with safeguards the list can be used.”
He said what is more worrying is that the British diplomat “was informed about the reality surrounding the list when the APNU met with the ABEC (America, Britain, Canada, and the European Union) countries.
“It is interesting that the ABEC countries chose to be briefed together, but the British High Commissioner chose to go it all alone in making her ill-informed comments. The High Commissioner must be reminded that all the observers of the 2020 elections underscored the need for a clean voters list,” Norton said, reminding Miller that the opposition has called for biometrics at the place of the poll.
“The British High Commissioner must tell us if the safeguards she is referring to include biometrics at the place of poll. We reiterate our position that we will continue to struggle for a clean voters list since credible elections demand a credible list.
Norton said that while he had no doubt that the British High Commission has a right to make a pronouncement, “what I, however, acknowledge is that we also have a right to make a pronouncement on any pronouncement that is made.”
Asked by reporters what would have been the opposition’s position if the British High Commissioner had cited the need for biometrics and the cleansing of the voter’s list, Norton replied, “if the British High Commissioner had said that, we would have concluded that she got our message and we would have welcomed it.
“To the extent that she hasn’t said that, it does not suit, in our opinion, the interest of the people of Guyana and our constituency for her to make such a statement,” he said, adding that as a political party, “we have a right to protect what we perceive to be our interest.”
The AFC, which is also a member of the APNU, has already said it will not contest the LGE based on the existing list.
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