GECOM waives COVID-19 vaccination requirement for first time registrants

Mar 14, 2022 News

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– as PNCR objects to restriction

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Elections Commission has eased restrictions for persons seeking to register following strong objections by the Peoples National Congress Reform over the electoral body’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
On Friday, GECOM issued a statement explaining the need for the Commission to ensure that the protection and safety of its staff during the ongoing registration process. GECOM said that prior to the commencement of the Continuous Registration exercise, internal COVID-19 guidelines aimed at protecting the GECOM Registration personnel were prepared and circulated to all its Registration Offices for compliance.
The guidelines were prepared in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 8 of the Gazetted Subsidiary Legislation – Regulations No. 1 of 2022 – The Public Health Ordinance dated Friday 28th January, 2022, which stipulates that “every employer under this regulation shall ensure that appropriate COVID-19 guidelines are prepared and implemented to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus among workers, to protecting employees against becoming infected with the COVID -19 Virus” GECOM said.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, and in recognition of the fact that many persons in the 14-17 years old age range might not have been able to be vaccinated for want of being in possession of National Identification Cards, because they were never registered, a decision was taken to waive the vaccination requirement for this age group.
According to the Elections Commission, the decision was taken in consultation with the respective Chief Scrutineers of the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), respectively.
To this end, the organization said that an internal memorandum dated March 9, 2022, was dispatched electronically to all of the Commission’s Registration Officers instructing that the vaccination requirement be waived to allow for unvaccinated eligible persons between the ages of 14-17 years old to be registered. However, persons within this age range visiting any GECOM Registration Office to apply for registration must adhere to the other routine Covid-19 preventative measures.
This courtesy does not extend to persons beyond the age of 18 years, the Elections Commission said. This means that all persons 18 years and older must be fully vaccinated in order to visit any GECOM Registration Office to conduct registration transactions.
It however noted that this matter is expected to be deliberated upon at the Commission’s next Statutory meeting, to determine a conclusive approach regarding this category of unvaccinated persons who may wish to conduct registration transactions.
Meanwhile, it was the PNCR that first flagged vaccination requirement. The party had called on GECOM to reverse the “unconstitutional” requirement, for Guyanese to be first vaccinated before getting registered for their national Identification (ID) cards. The party said it “totally rejects the requirement imposed by GECOM that citizens wishing to register must first provide proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative PCR test”.
It reasoned that this requirement blatantly violates the Guyana constitution that enshrines a citizen’s right to elect and be elected as a fundamental guarantee, and imposes only a minimum of necessary eligibility and administrative requirements for registration and for voting.
In this regard, PNCR said the vaccination requirement must be immediately withdrawn. The party was keen to note that its position is not meant to suggest that it is underestimating the continued threats by the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore suggested that the Elections Commission put other effective measures in place such as masking, sanitizing, well-ventilated and spacious offices, and social distancing to promote the safety and comfort of its staff and all visiting applicants.
According to the Opposition, “The requirement is also absurd in that it places many citizens in the classic chicken-and-egg situation whereby to get a COVID-19 vaccine, a person needs a National ID card, but to get an ID card, a person needs to be vaccinated. The GECOM Secretariat has obviously given only superficial thought to the constitutional and common-sense implications of imposing a vaccination prerequisite for registration”.
While calling on the Elections Commission to annul its decision, the Party noted that it has also asked its commissioners to vigorously pursue the matter, with the intent of having the “unconstitutional” measure withdrawn immediately.

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