GECOM “committed to delivering results within shortest possible time”

…polling stations equipped with solar lights and other back up power options

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward on Monday affirmed that the elections body is “committed to delivering results within the shortest possible time” as the nation waits for the official declarations of results in the September 1 General and Regional Elections, noting that all polling stations across the country have been equipped with solar and other backup power in preparation for the eventualities of power outages that could delay the process.
Speaking at GECOM’s first post-poll press conference on Monday, held at GECOM’s Media Centre, Regency Suites, Ward noted that while GECOM has estimated a possible declaration by Thursday, the law allows up to 15 days to release results, and recounts or other extenuating factors could delay this timeline.
“We want to ensure that this process concludes within the shortest time possible,” Ward noted.
“As always, we understand the anxiety, and we have committed to delivering those results within the shortest possible time… taking into account all of the legal provisions that are in place. When I see legal provisions, that is as it relates to the request for recounts. If there are requests for recounts and we have to facilitate those recounts, then it means it may shift those anticipated timelines.”
GECOM had previously estimated the completion of district declarations by Wednesday evening and the national declaration of election results by Thursday morning. Some 757,690 voters were registered to cast their votes at some 2790 polling stations across the country in Guyana’s September 1 General and Regional Elections.
Tabulation of the ballots commenced on site at the polling stations immediately after the close of polls at 18:00h, allowing for the Statement Of Poll (SOP) to be generated and posted outside of the polling station.
This year’s elections also saw a new feature with the introduction of the real-time uploading and display of election results on the GECOM website following the close of polls (https://sopgallery.gecom.org.gy/age Gallery). The uploads are being done after the SOPs are received by the Returning Officers (RO) and Supernumerary Returning Officers (SRO) of the respective districts at their respective offices. As of late last evening, GECOM had already begun to post some SOP results on the website, with results for at least one SOP in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
Clarifying rumours about polling stations being affected by power outages, Ward noted that GECOM has provided backup power at the stations.
“As relates to power outage situations, up to the time when I commenced this press briefing, I did not receive such reports. However, what I can say is that we have put backup systems in place to address that. For the purpose of the count, we have provided all polling stations with solar lamps to facilitate that process. In cases of the offices of RO and SRO, there are backup systems in place to ensure the upload and scanning process of SOPs continues uninterrupted,” Ward explained.
Ward also explained that the Commission’s IT department is also continuously addressing any issues with the website as they arise. Ward acknowledged that earlier in the day the Commission did face some hiccups as pertains to the crashing of the site due to the amount of traffic generated.
Ward shared that GECOM is working along with an IT advisor from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has been testing the site and continuously improving it.
“The UNDP has been offering support to GECOM in relation to our IT needs. We did a considerable amount of testing on the portal and continue to ensure we monitor it closely. In the IT world, once some of these systems are crowded at a particular time, we may experience these kinds of hiccups. It is unfortunate, but I think the work that was done by our technical team throughout the day,” she noted.