GECOM says all election materials involved in ECD accident secured, safely delivered

– calls out “miscreant” over misinformation
– sets out strict guidelines to prohibit use of cell-phones in Polling Stations on E-Day

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has assured that all election materials involved in Friday night’s accident along the East Coast Demerara (ECD) corridor have been safely escorted and are now secured at the GECOM headquarters in Georgetown. Following the close of polls on Friday when members of the Disciplined Forces cast their votes ahead of the September 1 General and Regional Elections, the ballot boxes were being transported in three minibuses under police escort when they became involved in a vehicular collision.
GECOM staff, party agents, and a police officer were also injured during the collision and transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for treatment. At the time, the three ballot boxes and other materials were being escorted from District Six (Region Six – East Berbice/Corentyne) by the police, with GECOM staff and political party agents in the vehicles.
The accident occurred at about 20:55h on the La Bonne Intention (LBI) Public Road, ECD. According to a report from the Guyana Police Force (GPF), minibus BAB 6899 was proceeding west with ballot box #DF048 from Central Police Station in Berbice. Behind that were minibuses PXX 7898, which was carrying ballot box #DF047 from the same station, and minibus BAL2180, which containing ballot box #DF050 from Whim Police Station.

The minibuses were all travelling behind each other and were being escorted by GPF motorcar PAB 8212, when an unknown vehicle drove north-west out of the LBI Access Road into the pathway of the escort. This caused the police vehicle to apply its brakes, which in turn forced minibus BAB6899 to stop. As a result, minibus PXX7899 collided with the rear of BAB6899, and minibus BAL2180 subsequently collided with the rear of PXX7899. Shortly after, there were reports on social media that the ballot boxes were scattered after the collision – something that GECOM has since refuted. In a statement on Saturday, the Elections Commission stated: “GECOM has noted a malicious social media post by someone who is obviously a miscreant, falsely informing that as a result of the accident, ballot boxes were scattered all over the place. This is exactly the kind of disinformation that the Commission has been relentlessly pleading must be avoided.”
Nevertheless, both the police and GECOM have assured that the ballot boxes and other materials were secured. “GECOM takes this opportunity to state that ALL election materials were safely retrieved, transported to GECOM Headquarters, and currently in secured custody,” the election body noted.
According to GECOM, the accident is being investigated by the Police Force.

Prohibiting cell-phones
Public Relations (PRO) Officer at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Yolanda Warde, had told the Guyana Times at the close of polls on Friday evening that the D-Day activities were “generally a smooth process,” barring a few minor hiccups. During the course of Friday, there were photos being circulated of ballots cast by officers despite GECOM previously barring the use of cell-phones in the polling stations. “We had put all our measures in place. We’ve sent out notices, advisories and people should know it’s an office. I’m not sure what will be the course of action the Commission will take but I’m sure it will be discussed,” the GECOM PRO indicated to this newspaper on Friday evening.
On Saturday, however, GECOM said, as a matter of policy, it has decided to introduce a comprehensive set of measures to prohibit the use of cell- phones and other recording devices in Polling Stations. According to a notice from GECOM, “This decisive action is aimed at preserving the secrecy of the ballot, particularly to address existing concerns about the potential for vote selling that is directly linked to photographing of ballots.” The prohibition on cell phone use and the penalties for vote selling are rooted in the Representation of the People Act, Cap. 1:03.
Consequently, on election day, voters will be asked to turn off their cell phones before entering the Polling Station and reminded of the same while inside. Additionally, the Presiding Officer will keep the voter’s National ID Card until they have finished voting.
“Provision will be made next to the voting compartment for you to place your phone and other items including handbags, before you use the voting compartment to vote. The Presiding Officer or other Polling Day Staff will instruct you to free your hands of all items by placing them next to the voting compartment before you vote,” GECOM said. Moreover, it was noted that the voting compartment will be positioned in a manner that allows for GECOM staff, and Party Agents as far as this is practicable, to observe if you are attempting to use your phone to take a photo of your ballot.
“If you attempt to take a photo of your ballot the GECOM Staff and Party Agents will raise an alarm. Any voter observed taking a photograph of his/her ballot paper will result in a formal note being made of the incident, and a report will be submitted to the Guyana Police Force for investigation,” the Commission noted.
Persons are reminded to ensure they pick up their phones from the desk/table and collect their ID card from the Presiding Officer, before leaving the Polling Station.
GECOM stressed, “It is important for you to understand that the selling of a vote is a serious offence which carries heavy penalties. Anyone found guilty of selling his/her vote will have to pay a fine of sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000.00) and will be imprisoned for six (6) months.”
The Elections Commission has urged voters to cooperate with these new measures, especially since they are necessary for upholding the integrity and transparency of the electoral process.