PSC recommends ‘checks and balances’ procedures to boost transparency

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has made a series of recommendations aimed at boosting transparency and integrity of the electoral process as it relates to the tabulation of polls.
In a statement on Friday, the Commission expressed concerns over the lack of transparency and integrity with regard to the transmission of Statements of Poll (SoPs) from the Polling Stations by the Presiding Officers (POs) to the Returning Officers (ROs) of the respective 10 electoral districts, and the timing of the announcement of the vote results by ROs.
After examining the methodology introduced by GECOM for the delivery of the SoPs to the Returning Officers in the respective electoral districts, the PSC has concluded that there are several possible security risks which could result in compromising the integrity of the SoPs.
The PSC further highlighted concerns over the fact that despite the law giving unambiguous authority to the respective Returning Officers to declare the results of the elections for their respective district immediately on the completion of the collation and certification of the votes, it has been the practice of the Chief Elections Officer to have the ROs delay the declaration until instructed to do so. These instructions, the Commission noted, have the undesirable effect of delaying the official declaration of the results by the respective Returning Officers.
The PSC raised these concerns with the Chair of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice Claudette Singh (ret’d), in a letter earlier this month. In that missive, the PSC outlined a set of checks and balances procedures aimed at ensuring that the entire post-poll process is carried out in the strictest compliance with the pertinent laws and shared this procedure with the Chairman of GECOM.
Among the recommended list of 11 checks and balances procedures to the GECOM Chair are to have Presiding Officers and party agents, who are involved in the count at the Polling Station, place their respective seals on the envelopes containing the Statements of Poll, as authorised by law and to have, as an administrative measure, formal documentation of the delivery/receipt of the SoPs between the Presiding Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer.
It was also recommended that party agents must be allowed to accompany the Presiding Officer in the delivery of the SoPs to the Deputy Returning Officer, as well as party agents also having access to the Office of the DRO at the time of the delivery of the SoPs by the PO to the DRO towards ensuring that the integrity of the SoPs remains uncompromised.

Another suggestion was for party agents to further be allowed to accompany Deputy Returning Officers in the delivery of the SoPs from the Offices of DROs to the Returning Officers, and for there to be, again as an administrative measure, formal documentation of the delivery/receipt of the SoPs between the Deputy Returning Officer and the Returning Officer.
The PSC also wants to the entire movement of all SoPs from Polling Station to DRO and then to RO be done under Police escort. It noted too that it is essential that GECOM must fix a specific time for the commencement to conclusion of the collation of the votes by the respective ROs.
It also called for party agents and observers to be duly informed of the time when the ROs will commence to the conclusion of their respective collation and for ROs to comply with the time fixed for such commencement to ensure the presence and involvement of the authorised agents and observers.
Finally, the PSC noted that having collated the total votes cast in favour of respective Lists of Candidates, and providing there is no request for a recount of the votes, the RO must publicly declare the votes recorded for each List of Candidates, without delay.
According to the Private Sector body, the institutionalisation and implementation of these checks and balances, will, among other things, provide greater transparency relative to the post-poll activities leading up to the declaration of the results of the elections by the Returning Officers.
It further noted too that this will also generate confidence among the contesting political parties and their respective constituencies that GECOM is committed to the delivery of credible elections, as well as ensure common acceptance by all stakeholders that the elections were conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.

Carter Center tabulation procedures
These recommendations by the PSC come on the heels of US-based electoral observer mission, The Carter Center, also calling for GECOM to widely distribute its tabulation procedures so that stakeholders can better understand the process.
“Clear and detailed explanations of procedures – with key safeguards for transparency, including explicit provisions allowing for party scrutineers and observers at all stages – are critical. The Center encourages GECOM to publicise and distribute existing procedures as widely as possible, including to all political parties, civil society organisations, media, and electoral observers, in order to clarify any misunderstandings and avoid disputes over the process,” the Observer Mission detailed in a periodic statement on Thursday.