GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Apr. 3, CMC – Acting Chief Justice Roxane George on Thursday ruled that there is no residency requirement for Guyanese citizens to be registered and ultimately to vote in the general elections. Based on this, the application was dismissed.
The case centered on the National Registration (Amendment) Act of 2022 and was filed by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Chief Election Scrutineer, Carol Smith-Joseph. The case challenged GECOM’s House-to-House registration process.
The ruling on Thursday applied to both the regional and general elections.
Joseph, who was represented by attorney Dexter Todd, sought a declaration that mandates not only verifying that an address exists but also that the applicant lives at or is connected to that address.
The court heard that Joseph was concerned that some addresses are abandoned buildings, places where no one has lived for years, some addresses exist but no one knows the person who claim to be living there, and some addresses are generic like a name of a village or area.
The applicant believed that these occurrences contaminated the National Register of Registrants list. But the Chief Justice stated that no evidence was provided by the applicant to back her claims.
“The applicant has produced no evidence to support the contentions that there are persons who have been found not to be located at the address stated on their registration information, that is that they do not reside at their addresses claimed,” the Chief Justice stated.
Further, in her ruling, Chief Justice George emphasised that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) cannot refuse registration based on address verification concerns.
The PNCR, in a statement, said the decision will be appealed.
CMC/gy/kb/2025