GECOM “fully prepared” for today’s elections – CEO Persaud

…results to be known by September 3

Head of Election Secretariat at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud, has assured that they are fully prepared for the holding of General and Regional Elections today. At a press conference on Sunday – less than 24 hours before polls open today, Persaud said, “We, at this time, are fully prepared to conduct the General and Regional Elections tomorrow (today)… We, at the level of the [Election] Secretariat…reaffirm our commitment to deliver free, fair and credible elections.” According to the CEO, this position was bolstered by feedback received from the Returning Officers (RO), as of Sunday, that “everything is in place for the conduct of these elections.”
Over the last few days, ballot boxes and other sensitive materials were transported to the 10 Districts across the country and will be distributed within adequate time ahead of the opening of polls at 06:00h today. Persaud explained that materials for polling stations that are located in some riverine and remote hinterland areas were dispatched on Sunday to ensure they are fully equipped for the timely opening of the poll. However, in one instance, during the transportation of the ballot boxes to remote polling stations in District Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), the GECOM staff, while being escorted by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officers, came under fire from the Venezuelan shore while in the Upper Cuyuni River. The Guyanese officers returned fire and managed to get everyone to safety, the Joint Services said in a statement on Sunday.
On the other hand, GECOM, in a separate missive, confirmed that all ballot boxes scheduled for delivery were successfully delivered without damage or delay, with all election materials fully intact and accounted for. There are 757,690 registered voters across the 10 Administrative Regions (Districts) who are listed to vote at some 2,790 polling stations across the country. In a late notice on Sunday evening, GECOM indicated that there was a change in the location of one of the polling stations in District Four along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

Relocation of polling station
According to the Commission, it was contacted by the owner of a private residence at Hibiscus Drive, Peters Hall, EBD, on Sunday, indicating that he was no longer interested in his property being used as a polling station. “Against this backdrop, GECOM’s logistics team immediately sought and finalised an alternative arrangement. As such, the persons initially listed to vote at that place will now vote at the CARICOM General Insurance Company which is located a short distance away from the original location. Electors who were listed to vote at the Hibiscus Drive location are asked to take note of the new venue of their polling station,” the election body stated. Meanwhile, one of the six political parties contesting the elections, the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), had made a request to GECOM to increase the number of polling stations in some areas along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) where there were too many voters listed at certain locations and where persons had to go a far distance to vote.
According to CEO Persaud, while there were no disagreements on this request, the seven-member Commission during a meeting on Saturday unanimously decided not to approve it, given the short notice before elections day. Notwithstanding this decision, the CEO noted that GECOM’s Logistics Manager examined the locations highlighted and found that the party was “justifiable” in its requests for at least 12 of them. “The conclusion was that the time available to facilitate this change was insufficient and therefore, they were not approved,” he explained.
Another issue that the seven-member Elections Commission had to deal with during Saturday’s meeting was the late submission by at least four political parties for the appointment of their polling day agents. Section 24 (2) of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) requires that such notification be given to the respective RO no later than seven (7) days before election day. But the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Alliance for Change (AFC), Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and Assembly of Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) political parties had all missed the statutory timeline for the submission of the appointment of Assistant Agents, Polling Agents and Candidates to the Poll and to the Count. Nevertheless, the Commission again unanimously agreed to facilitate the late submission – a decision that the CEO says was done “…in the interest of fairness and transparency and to ensure the integrity of the [electoral] process.”
Of the six parties contesting the elections today, the PPP/C, WIN, AFC and APNU are contesting in all 10 Regions while the FGM party is contesting seven regions and ALP party is contesting six regions.

Elections results
GECOM has employed a total of 11,718 staff in varying positions and roles to ensure the smooth conduct of the elections. According to the CEO, “These staff have been trained to ensure consistency, transparency and professionalism throughout the implementation of their respective tasks.”
Previously, Persaud had disclosed that persons were declining to take up the responsibility of Presiding Officers (PO). On Sunday, he reported that this issue was sorted after they rearranged and shifted around staff members. “We have no void of Presiding Officers or any other officers,” the CEO declared. He further dismissed claims that army officers would be used to fill these gaps, stressing, “That will not happen.” Meanwhile, the GPF will deploy approximately 8,700 officers to maintain order during the electoral process today and the days afterwards.
The transparency and credibility of the election process will be further enhanced as some 500 local observers and about 200 international observers will be monitoring the activities. CEO Persaud indicated on Sunday that, practically, results from each district/region can be expected by the evening of September 3 – one day later than he had previously indicated. This timeline, Persaud explained during the press conference, takes into account the extensive tabulation process and the time it would take to upload the Statement of Polls (SoP) from each of the polling stations in the various districts. He added that arrangements have been put in place to ensure every polling station is adequately equipped and powered to allow for a smooth flow of these processes. According to the CEO, once the results are declared in each district by the evening of September 3, and barring there are no major delays or Requests for Recounts from any of the contesting political parties, national results could be declared by GECOM the following morning.