A year after they were constitutionally entitled to vote in General and Regional Elections due to the successful passage of the No Confidence Motion of Dec 21, 2018, the people of Guyana were finally able to exercise their franchise yesterday, March 2, 2020. It was not an easy road they were forced to travel to get there, after the APNU/AFC government fought a Sherman-like scorched earth campaign in the Courts and over the conduct of the elections arrangements by the putatively independent Guyana Elections Commission – GECOM.
But the day for what was billed by some as the “mother of all elections” finally arrived and the elements cooperated since most of the country experienced very salubrious weather. The air was pregnant with expectancy when the polls opened at 6am to long lines in most polling stations. There were some hiccups on the East Coast of Demerara where some tents to accommodate polling stations previously located in private homes were only assembled by 9am.
There was a steady procession of voters throughout the day with a few glitches surfacing. There were several reports that the numbered inked stamp manually applied to ballot papers were missing digits but upon being brought to the attention of the GECOM Officials, they assured the public that the problem was rectified. It is hoped therefore, that no one were disenfranchised during the counting of the polls last night due to this mechanical malfunction.
There was one instance where a person on the East Coast was taken into custody for allegedly attempting to vote with an ID, not her own. However, as the day progressed there were two incidents where the police had to intervene where there were allegations made on ID cards. On the West Bank of Demerara, at the Goed Intent/Patentia Polling Station a person was accused of assisting persons to vote with fake ID cards, but when investigated by the Police, the accusation was found to be false. There was an unruly crowd build up that took the Police some time to disperse.d
More alarmingly, over on the East Coast Demerara, in a face to face confrontation, there were allegations by senior APNU/AFC officials to a senior PPP official that he was “distributing ID cards”. He immediately rubbished the claim whereupon it was stated that there was a photo to prove their allegations. The photo was never produced and and new tack was taken to claim that PPP supporters were seen changing their shirts, presumably to change their appearance. However, there were several instances officially reported by the CEO of GECOM that some persons were turned away because they were sporting party colours, but not with party insignias and were not campaigning. It is more likely that persons so garbed from both sides of the divide might have changed their outfits to pre-empt ejection.
By and large, the Observer missions reported that were pleased with the conduct of the elections, save for some administrative lapses. The Carter Center remarked on the large turnout while the OAS remarked on the same while noting they detected some Presiding Officers not being equipped with some necessary materials. The OAS also encouraged GECOM to announce the results without too much undue delays, even though they acknowledged the geography of Guyana was challenging. They suggested that GECOM might not have to wait until they physically have all the statement of polls before announcing results, since modern technology now permits electronic transmission of documents instantaneously.
However, at their Press Briefing after the close of polls, the GECOM CEO sought to dampen expectations of an early declaration. All he would confine himself was an opinion that by midday today, the Returning Officers in all ten districts should be in possession of all the Statement of Polls (SOP’s) in each of their districts.
Because of the heightened enthusiasm following General Elections, there is obviously great anxiety for the results to be declared. But we advise patience, especially after the extended period we have already had to endure.
