The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is on track for general and regional elections, according to Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally.
“I’m not in the least worried,” Surujbally said yesterday at the opening of a scrutineers meeting organised by GECOM. The Commission has taken note of the concerns raised by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and intends to respond to the issues raised, he said.
Surujbally referred to GECOM as whipping boys, while explaining that when political parties cannot combat each other on issues they channel their energies towards the Commission. He recalled being informed of the PPP statement prior to its release and according to him, the party’s representative who telephoned him was advised of preparations and where the Commission is.
Additionally, Surujbally said he informed the representative that there was nothing to fear, but he also sensed that the statement was going to be made public anyway.
There are going to be hiccups, he said, but he also stressed that it does not auger well for the Commission when matters are fed to the press “notwithstanding the media’s need for information.” He said solvable, minor matters should be solved without creating an atmosphere of distrust and unease.
“The elections cannot take place in an efficient manner when we have an environment of disturbance. Nothing must be attempted to be done to disrupt these elections that we are moving inexorably towards,” he emphasised.
The PPP has raised concerns over GECOM’s preparations for general elections, saying on Tuesday that the Commission has not been meeting because of the absence of one of the members who was recommended by the Opposition Leader.
The party said this absence and those of others have prevented the required quorum at GECOM meetings and it expressed serious concerns over the absence of the Commissioner given that the ‘Claims and Objections’ period is scheduled to start in another few weeks. “This can affect the preparatory work for the upcoming elections,” it said.
Speaking to the scrutineers, Surujbally underscored the importance of their role in the electoral process, but expressed hope that a day would come when there is no need for scrutineers to look over GECOM’s shoulders. He spoke of a GECOM that is so credible that whatever it does would be accepted by the political opponents for high office.
Surujbally underscored the importance of the scrutineers, saying the scrutineering process served the Commission well for the 2006 elections and during house-to-house registration.
In addition, he said it aided the preparations for local government elections, which had been scheduled for April 2010.
He advised the scrutineers that they were not simply working for their parties, but are also functioning on behalf of GECOM, given the critical roles they play.
He recalled that they were problems in the past with respect to payments and stressed that GECOM does not generate funds.
During his address, Surujbally mentioned that the fingerprints cross-matching exercise results would be concluded shortly and that funds have been made available for toners for the production of new ID cards.
