Days before elections: Opposition Commissioners walk out of critical GECOM meeting

Days before Guyanese head to the polls to cast their ballots, the Opposition-nominated Commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Thursday walked out of a meeting, thus halting critical discussions pertinent to ensuring a fair process at the Monday, September 1 General and Regional Elections.
At the time of the walk-out, the seven-member Elections Commission was discussing issues raised by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) regarding the adjustments of polling stations to allow convenience for voters.
Previously, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud had disclosed at a recent press conference that there was a request from the party for several polling stations to be added to allow for better access for voters. He had noted that the matter would go before the Commission for review.
However, when the issue came up during Thursday’s meeting, the Opposition-aligned Commissioners were unprepared to have the discussions.
“They were not prepared to discuss it, and they walked out of the meeting on the grounds that they were not prepared to discuss any matter concerning polling stations,” Government Commissioner Clement Rohee told Guyana Times when contacted on Thursday.
However, with the elections just mere days away, Rohee said, “We pointed out to them that if a mistake was made in relation to the breaches in the law [and] polling stations being at the convenience of the voters, either in the villages where they live or the communities where they live, then there should be reconsideration of the position [of the polling stations] to the satisfaction of the residents.”
Guyana Times understands that at least 30 polling stations along the East Coast of Demerara have large numbers of voters allocated to cast their ballots at those locations. These include polling stations at Mon Repos, Beterverwagting, Lusignan and Annandale.
In a letter the PPP/C had written to GECOM, the party expressed concerns about the inconvenience and long wait time that this could impose on the electorate and recommended that more polling stations and/or polling places be added to the existing locations or that the Commission utilise private residences for voters’ convenience.
The PPP, in the letter, pointed out that whatever decision is taken by the Commission on this matter has to be in compliance with Section Six of the Representation of the People’s Act (ROPA), which mandates GECOM to ensure that persons vote in the village or locality in which they are residing and registered in.
Moreover, there were some objections that the PPP’s request was not made in a timely manner.
However, a senior party official insisted that the request to GECOM was made in time but added that adherence to the law was still supreme over timelines.
“Timing is one factor, but what is more important is that the law is the overriding consideration. So, irrespective of the lateness of the time, which we do not agree with… what is of fundamental concern is whether there was a breach in the law that caused the party to write, raising its concerns or objections to the location of these polling stations,” the PPP official told this newspaper on Thursday evening.
Following Thursday’s opposition walkout, the PPP-nominated Commissioners at GECOM are now waiting to hear from the Elections Commission on what steps will be taken to have this matter resolved before Monday’s polling day.
During his press conference on Thursday, the PPP General Secretary was asked about the three Opposition Commissioners’ walk-out and said this action is “typical” and “not surprising” of the People’s National Congress (PNC)-appointed Commissioners.
Nevertheless, Jagdeo noted that GECOM has to ensure that it does its work, citing provisions for situations where the Commission does not have a quorum to meet.
“At the next meeting, if they’re [opposition commissioners] given the appropriate notice and they don’t show up, then the business of GECOM can continue. So, I hope that GECOM continues the work to be prepared to host the polls.”
GECOM has established some 2970 polling stations across Guyana for the September 1 elections, with a final count of 757,690 total voters registered on the Official List of Electors (OLE) as eligible to vote.
This marks an increase of 631 more polling stations than were established for the 2020 General and Regional Elections, with the OLE increasing by 14.63 per cent, or 96,692 voters.