In a reply to Mr Sherwood Lowe’s remark in a letter that the PNCR has an uphill battle to motivate its supporters who do not believe that Gecom can deliver a fair election, the Public Relations Officer of the elections body rattled off an impressive list of accomplishments in a letter in the last Sunday Stabroek entitled ‘Gecom can deliver a fair election and it is impossible to believe that anyone should think otherwise.’
Mr Vishnu Persaud’s list included
* We have continually kept political parties and other key stakeholders abreast of all registration and election undertakings via interactive sessions and by way of appropriate correspondence.
* The commission introduced a most comprehensive and all-encompassing house-to-house registration exercise which captured every single eligible Guyanese and allowed Gecom to produce a patent National Register of Registrants.
* The registration (both house-to-house and continuous) and election processes are fully monitored by scrutineers appointed by the governing political party and the joint opposition political parties in Parliament.
* We introduced continuous registration as a facility to allow for the frequent updating of the National Register of Registrants. This would allow us to respond positively to any call for snap elections.
* We introduced reliable mechanisms to thoroughly verify the accuracy of information provided by all applicants for registration before the application is further processed and accepted. This involves, inter alia, visiting the given residential address of the applicant.
* We introduced fingerprint cross matching to eliminate multiple registrations.
* Gecom’s Information Technology Division has been fully upgraded to guarantee the accuracy of the National Register of Registrants and official lists of electors/register of voters to be produced therefrom.
* Our comprehensive civic and voter education strategy has always targeted all sections of the electorate especially through the grass roots level communication approach. This involves the implementation of highly publicised voter education campaigns aimed at informing electors about their rights and responsibilities as voters, the step-by-step voting process, the locations of the respective polling stations, and to dissuade them from becoming involved in wilful electoral skulduggery.
The Commission can certainly take pride in its accomplishments. However, it must also take cognizance of a growing view in the public that the government and by extension the ruling party are intent on shaping and influencing in unacceptable ways the business of Gecom.
Take the last mentioned point about civic and voter education; the government through the agency of the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, had the temerity to issue instructions which could very well have jeopardized the fullness and efficacy of this programme. Following pointed criticism, the government later clarified that Dr Luncheon’s edict did not pertain to voter education. Perhaps so but it was already clear to all that the control-seeking Office of the President has other ideas and would not hesitate to utilize them if it benefited the incumbent and the ruling party.
The most potent weapon in the government’s arsenal is money. It has unconscionably withheld monies from Gecom for the previous cycle of expenditure and is already making noise that indicates that there could be further attempts to limit what Gecom will have at its disposal, notwithstanding the recent declaration by President Jagdeo.
There are other issues associated with the purse strings. Gecom will be operating on a very tight timeline for next year’s elections and there will be the inevitable slippages in training, demands for more time for claims, sourcing and distribution of election paraphernalia, etc. Any further imposition on this timeline as a result of inaccessibility to funds would be catastrophic.
There is enough time to prepare for general elections and there must be a democratic renewal next year. Nothing must be allowed to stand in the way of this. The intolerable extension of the life of his government that the late President Hoyte foisted on the people must not be repeated under any guise.
It is in Gecom’s interest that it speaks directly to the people on these issues rather than conducting the dialogue via intermediaries. We suggest therefore that the Chairman of Gecom, Dr Surujbally, either issue a detailed statement to the public or have one broadcast in which he addresses the following issues.
First, in relation to the inviolable independence of Gecom, Dr Surujbally must say what steps will be taken to secure greater financial comfort for the commission and what measures his commission has taken to insulate it from the unseemly interventions by Dr Luncheon and any other government or party functionary who may be so inclined.
Second, in terms of the availability of financing, the public should be told what the projected size of Gecom’s budget for the efficient staging of the elections is; how much it already has at its disposal and what it has been told about the availability of the reminder and the schedule for delivery.
Third, the question of the timetable and possible slippages are of immense interest to the electorate. The overwhelming sentiment would be in ensuring that elections are held easily within schedule and without the brinkmanship that tends to accompany the elections process.
The Chairman should lay out the timetable as it is and the potential areas for slippage and their remedies. He should also establish the tasks that are finance sensitive and the outside dates for the release of the necessary funds from the government.
Fourth, the commission should address the public on the matter of the declaration of results of the elections. The result of the election, the final tidying up of numbers notwithstanding, must be known on election night. This is also a crucial component of confidence in the process and it cuts through the tension that builds inexorably each day that passes without a result. The usual lamentation of Region Four results not being delivered must be overcome.
Considering the fluidity of the processes in question, the Chairman can speak regularly to the public on these and associated matters in addition to the press conferences that he would usually convene.
