…as over 85 per cent cast ballots on D-Day in Region 6
…91 per cent in Region 5
About 1000 members of the Joint Services would have cast a ballot on D-Day in the two Berbice regions: Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Some 661 police officers, 71 prisoners, and 40 ranks from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were listed to cast ballots in Region Six, while in Region Five there were 324 listed, with 74 at Mahaicony Police Station and 250 at Fort Wellington Police Station.
Members of the Disciplined Services stand in line to vote at the Regional and General Elections
In Region Six, voting took place at Central Police Station, where members of the GDF and police would have voted; Whim Police Station, which was a station only for police officers; Skeldon Police Station, where the GDF also joined the police; New Amsterdam Prisons, and at Camp Jaguar. Police Commander of Region Five, Senior Superintendent Lonsdale Withrite, said both polling stations in his region were opened on time and the process went smoothly.
Regional Traffic Officer (Region Six) ASP Charles Hooke
“Our ranks were already assembled to cast the vote, and they have been doing so seamlessly up until now… No problem, we have a system that would allow persons to come and vote and get back to work, so that other persons could come and cast their ballots as well,” the Commander said.
Meanwhile, in Region Six, Assistant Commissioner Shivpersaud Bacchus said that the process here also was of a similar nature; incident-free.
ASP Cintia Kelly – Central
“This morning we would have started the process of Joint Services voting at 04:30 hours, and this process was being done in collaboration with the GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission) officials and security from the Guyana Police Force (GPF). This is all the process in terms of having these Joint Services ballots to the various locations. At Central Police Station we have two stations, and at the Prison, we have one, Whim Police Station one, and Springlands Police Station one. While on the outskirts, in the hinterland location, we have Camp Jaguar. This process was incident-free. It was very smooth. All went well. Everyone was on time, and we didn’t have a hiccup with it,” the Commander said in a midday report.
Constable Ramesh Punwasie
Meanwhile, several observer teams visited the polling stations to get a first-hand look at the process. Assistant Scrutineer for the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Kirk Fraser, said they had been monitoring the day’s proceedings. He noted that it was taking an average of three minutes for each voter to complete the process.
“We have been out here since early this morning, where we observed the entire process, and so far things are going smoothly. I think that the Disciplined Services speak for themselves based on the organisation in which they represent.
While police ranks in Region Six had the opportunity to vote on Friday, the Commander did not.
“For some reason or the other, there was a difficulty on the list, and I will be able to cast my ballot on E-Day,” he explained to this publication.
Meanwhile, the Region Five Commander said his region is fully prepared for E-Day activities.
“We have been training and running simulation exercises and so on, so we are ready and prepared to deal with that period.”
Just over 750,000 persons are expected to cast their ballots on E-Day, September 1. The ballots of those who would have done so on D-Day would be placed with those ballots and then counted.
The 2025 elections will see six parties contending for the presidency. These include the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C); the APNU; the Alliance For Change (AFC); the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN); the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP); and the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM).
