Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has rubbished recent claims by Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Vincent Alexander that the PPP/C Government is not only working to manipulate electoral results, but weaken the nation’s democratic systems by extension.
On Sunday, during an episode of Nation Watch, Alexander weighed in on a case filed by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member, Carol Smith-Joseph. Her case calls for the reversal of amendments made in 2022 to the National Registration Act (NRA) which removed the requirement of residency for citizens to vote. Alexander believes the case is an important one, since in the absence of verification, the PPP could move its supporters into opposition strongholds, thereby manipulating the electoral results.
Speaking with Guyana Standard recently, Attorney General Nandlall said these claims being peddled by Alexander and company are absolute rubbish. “Alexander is demented and paranoid. They have been saying this since 1997, accusing us of bringing in tens of thousands persons from Trinidad and America, saying we are hiding people in East Bank and in the bushes…But Alexander is demented and paranoid,” said the AG.
He added, “Let him produce one scintilla of evidence to support what he’s saying. He’s paranoid, and he suffers from dementia. That’s my comment and I want you to quote me on that, he is a blow blow.”
In a recent engagement with members of the press, Nandlall was keen to note that the case by Joseph-Smith is wholly misconceived. Nandlall, who is representing the interest of the state in the matter, said this is not the first time he is engaged in a legal battle on the issue. He recalled that a similar case was before Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George in 2019.
It would be recalled that in August 2019, Justice George-Wiltshire had ruled in a case brought by private citizens that a House to House registration exercise that was being conducted by GECOM at that time could not be used to remove persons’ names from the National Register of Registrants.
“Residence requirements from citizens is no longer a qualification for the registration,” the Chief Justice had noted, adding that “the right to vote and the right to be registered to vote are sacrosanct.”
While she had ruled that the registration exercise is not unconstitutional or unlawful, the Chief Justice in delivering her ruling, noted that persons cannot be removed from the national register if their place of residence is not verified.
Almost six years later, Nandlall said he is baffled that he is made to argue the same case and arguments, once more.
