GECOM Commissioners tussle over acquisition of biometric equipment

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is currently in process of putting together its 2023 budget and last week’s statutory meeting saw government and Opposition Commissioners tussling over the inclusion of an allocation for the acquisition of biometric equipment.

Opposition-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander said that the Commissioners on the government side insisted that GECOM should not budget for a scanner that would allow the IT division to develop a system for the digital capture of fingerprints. He noted that this matter has been on GECOM’s agenda for over a decade and the scanner was even included in the 2021 budget but was not acquired.

“They claim that such an acquisition must await the frequently postponed discussion on biometrics. It should be noted that what is proposed is merely a technological upgrade of the matter of capture of fingerprints and has no impact on anything else biometric. There is a clear attempt to stymie any progress that will enhance and make the systems at GECOM transparent. In this instance even initiatives of the PPP-friendly administration are being jettisoned,” Alexander said.

The Opposition Commissioners have been advocating for the introduction of biometrics into the electoral process but there is little agreement on the issue.

In August, Alexander and his fellow Commissioners Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman tabled a motion calling for the introduction of biometrics as part of the electoral reform process.

The motion states that there have been numerous allegations of voter impersonation at places of poll, adding that in 2020 GECOM was provided with documentation from statutory agencies and bodies to substantiate the allegations. It argued that GECOM has discussed the introduction of a biometric identification system at the place of poll as an additional mechanism for enhancing the system of identifying voters on election day and such a feature will significantly impact and improve the overall systems by reducing the number of successful instances of voter impersonation.

The Opposition Commissioners added that GECOM is of the view that, operationally, the introduction of a biometric identification system at the place of poll should be

Vincent Alexander preceded by the implementation of a digital registration system which includes the digital capture of registrants’ biometric characteristics at its permanent registration offices. It reminded that the Commission had decided to conduct a study on the implementation of biometric systems.

The motion pointed out that during the discussions the view was expressed and doubt created as to whether GECOM could proceed to implement these systems without specific legislative intervention.

It also highlighted the fact that the government has initiated a process to commence the reform of Guyana’s electoral laws and invited inputs from the Commission.

To date, there has been no discussion on a way forward at the Commission level.

Last week, Commissioner Sase Gunraj related that the Commission has never taken a decision on biometrics.

Sase Gunraj

“In fact, the issue is still to be discussed by the commission. As a consequence, any acquisition before this is concluded can only be considered premature,” he said.

Gunraj maintained that the issue of biometrics is not as simple as it is made out to be. He said that it requires careful analysis by the Commission before a decision is made on the way forward.

“We have to look at the necessity and utility of the introduction of biometrics and how it will impact the current and future work of the Commission. We have to look at the cost factor and the time it will take to implement and most importantly the impact on the stakeholders. We have to do an in-depth analysis of the issue and any decision is premature,” Gunraj said.

He further explained that the Commission would also have to look at whether the introduction of biometrics would require legislative changes.