GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Chairman of the Guyana Elections Fee (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh, has shot down the opportunity of introducing biometrics for this yr’s elections, saying the timeline is simply too tight and vital hurdles stay. She defined that with lower than a yr to go earlier than elections, it might not be possible, inside the time obtainable, to introduce such a system.
The Opposition and its nominated GECOM members have lengthy advocated utilizing biometrics, arguing that it might improve election integrity. Nonetheless, Authorities-nominated members have opposed the thought.
In giving her determination, the GECOM chair famous that the Fee is already engaged in in depth preparations for the upcoming normal and regional elections, leaving little room to include such a fancy system.
Retired Justice Singh outlined the numerous groundwork required to implement biometrics, together with procuring gear, coaching personnel, public training campaigns, and guaranteeing satisfactory laws to safe biometric information.
When utilizing biometric identification at polling stations, she highlighted present authorized provisions that enable fingerprints to be in contrast with these on id playing cards. Nonetheless, ID playing cards issued solely to people who can not signal embrace fingerprints, complicating the method.
The GECOM chairman contended that introducing a system of digital biometric identification of voters as a compulsory or solely technique of identification would impose an extra requirement on voters and would, subsequently, be unconstitutional.
As a substitute, she recommended biometrics may function a supplementary instrument for identification.
“Nonetheless, laws will likely be essential to introduce such instruments on this regard,” she added.
Justice Singh stated the Fee would want to seek the advice of with stakeholders, have interaction with the federal government and parliament on the feasibility of biometrics, look at prices, and think about the required legislative modifications earlier than continuing.
