Fifteen years on from the last great cull of “old” ID cards, Guyana still finds itself in a muddle: national identification cards first issued in the 2009–2013 period are visibly circulating in 2025—some of them worn, faded, and quite possibly out of date. That is not a mere clerical annoyance; it’s a systemic weakness that undermines trust, slows down voting, and exposes our elections to unnecessary doubt.
GECOM cannot continue to treat the ID system as a back-office formality. The Commission is legally responsible for the registration of persons and the production and maintenance of national ID cards; when that system drifts, our democracy pays the price.
What the Law Already Expects (and Why “Very Old” Cards Are a Red Flag)
ID cards have a life and must be renewed.
The National Registration Regulations explicitly provide for expiry and renewal of national identification cards—there is even a prescribed Form R13: “Notification to Renew National Identification Card” that states “the life of your national identification card expires on [date].” In short: cards are not meant to be indefinite. If they’re still in wallets long past their life, that is a compliance failure.
GECOM has decommissioned old cards before.
In 2011, the Commission decommissioned all cards issued before October 2009 ahead of the general and regional elections—because those cards no longer correlated to the then-current Official List of Electors (OLE). GECOM also made clear that an ID card is not strictly required to vote if the elector appears on the OLE, but the card is the fastest and preferred way to confirm identity. That history shows GECOM knows how—and when—to draw a hard line on stale cards.
The current, official position still treats the ID card as the “primary and preferred” form of identification on Election Day.
If so, then keeping cards current is not cosmetic—it’s operationally critical.
The takeaway is simple: if a card from 2009–2013 is still in circulation in 2025 without renewal or re-issuance, that clashes with the Regulations’ expiry/renewal framework and with best practice that GECOM itself has previously enforced.
Why the Status Quo Is Unacceptable
1. It breeds inconsistency at polling stations.
Staff are told the ID is “primary and preferred,” yet they routinely encounter cards older than many of the staff themselves. That invites uneven decisions, queue delays, and quarrels on the line.
2. It weakens chain-of-trust.
The longer an ID’s life stretches beyond its intended “expiry,” the more chance of outdated biographical details, changed residence, or worn security features—exactly what the renewal process and the R13 notice are meant to correct.
3. It contradicts GECOM’s own precedent.
If pre-2009 cards were rightly retired en masse, why is there tolerance now for first-generation post-2009 cards that have never been renewed? The principle is the same: alignment of identity media with the current register.
The Charge to GECOM (Plain Talk)
GECOM, this is on your desk. The law gives you the tools; you must use them—consistently, transparently, and urgently. You’ve done large-scale resets before (2011). You run continuous registration cycles. You publicise that IDs are produced within a set timeframe. So show the country that the integrity of the ID system is being managed with the same discipline as the OLE.
Immediate Solutions (Action List)
1. Publish the validity policy—now.
Release an official circular that states, in one page, the validity period applied to each generation of ID cards (by design/version) and the renewal trigger. Reference the Regulations and include a specimen image table (card version vs. issue window vs. renewal rule).
2. Set a clear cut-off for first-issue 2009–2013 cards.
Announce that any unrenewed cards first issued 2009–2013 will cease to be valid ID media for Election Day processing after a reasonable grace period (e.g., six weeks).
Emphasise that no elector loses the right to vote if they are on the OLE; alternative identification and oath procedures remain, but the old card won’t be treated as “primary and preferred.”
3. Nationwide R13 renewal drive.
Auto-generate and mail (and text/WhatsApp) Form R13 renewal notices to every registrant whose card age or status indicates expiry/renewal due. Publish weekly uptake dashboards by region and LAA.
4. Mobile renewal blitz with extended hours.
Deploy mobile teams across hinterland and riverain communities, Saturday/Sunday openings, and after-work hours for two weeks straight.
Partner with NDCs, NGOs, and faith groups to host pop-ups.
5. Strengthen identity features without excluding voters.
Re-issue renewed cards with machine-readable security (barcode/QR) that links to a read-only verification service at polling stations—no connectivity required beyond a cached roster, to avoid disenfranchisement if networks fail.
Where feasible, coordinate with the emerging Digital ID programme so future physical cards harmonise with secure digital credentials (but do not make digital a voting prerequisite).
6. Clean the register in parallel.
Use death records and fingerprint de-duplication to purge deceased and duplicates promptly—GECOM already cites fingerprint cross-matching; scale it and report results publicly.
7. Polling-day SOPs that protect rights and speed.
Train all staff: if a voter is on the OLE but presents an out-of-policy old card, process via the alternative ID/verification path (oath + cross-check) while a supervisor logs the card number for post-election audit.
Make the alternative path time-boxed (e.g., three minutes) so queues keep moving.
8. Post-election audit of ID presentation.
Publish anonymised stats: % voters presenting valid-version IDs, % using alternatives, and any incidents of attempted ID misuse—by region and station cluster.
Messaging You Can Use
“The law recognises expiry and renewal of ID cards; elections recognise the voter. Let’s align both.”
“Pre-2009 cards were retired for good reason. The same logic must apply to first-issue 2009–2013 cards that were never renewed.”
“If the ID card is the ‘primary and preferred’ key to quick voting, then keeping it current is a duty—not a favour.”
Bottom Line
Guyana doesn’t need another cycle of confusion at the gates of the polling place. The Regulations already envisage expiry and renewal, GECOM has precedent for decommissioning outdated cards, and the Commission itself calls the ID “primary and preferred” on Election Day. Fix the policy, enforce the cut-off, help people renew, and protect the right to vote with speed and certainty. That’s how you secure elections without shutting anyone out.
References
1. Government of Guyana – National Registration (Amendment) Regulations, Official Gazette (29 Sept 2005), includes Form R13: Notification to Renew National Identification Card.
2. Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) – Press Statement on 2011 Elections, decision to decommission all ID cards issued before October 2009.
3. Guyana Elections Commission – Public guidance (2011) confirming ID card is not required if elector is on the OLE, but remains the fastest means of verification.
4. Department of Public Information (DPI) – GECOM Advisory, 2025: ID card is the “primary and preferred” form of identification on Election Day.
5. Guyana Elections Commission – Continuous Registration Notices, outlining fingerprint cross-matching, death record updates, and ID card production timelines.