Application development manual/Appendix/Compiling/Embedding static elements in your application: Needlessly recommends using gst_plugin_register_static()

https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/documentation/application-development/appendix/compiling.html?gi-language=c#page-description

There's no point in doing so, simply calling gst_element_register() from the application has the same effect for all practical purposes and requires less boilerplate.