The People National Congress Reform on Thursday issued a statement calling for the Guyana Elections Commission to withdraw the vaccination requirement imposed for citizens to register.
The party said that imposing a vaccination requirement for registration blatantly violates the Guyana constitution, as the constitution enshrines a citizen’s right to elect and be elected as a fundamental guarantee.
The party adds that the constitution only imposes a minimum of necessary eligibility and administrative requirements for registration and voting.
GECOM requirements state that anyone who wishes to access their offices to register must provide proof of being fully vaccinated or produce a negative PCR test and the PNCR has since labelled the requirement as absurd.
Explaining why they believe the requirement is absurd, they said that for a person to get a COVID 19 vaccine they require an identification card and to access this document they need a vaccination card.
Thus they said that the commission has placed citizens in a chicken-and-egg situation.
However, it is required as per the gazette that anyone who wishes to access a public building must be fully vaccinated or produce a negative PCR test. This was gazetted to ensure public safety.
The Party said it had asked its commissioner to vigorously pursue this matter immediately and has suggested that GECOM put other measures in place to combat the threats of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Among the suggested measures are masking, sanitizing and social distancing.
