Supervisors and Deputy Returning Officers appointed
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has appointed 19 Supervisors and 179 Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) across Guyana to assist the Returning Officers in the 10 Electoral Districts (Administrative Regions) with the efficient management of the upcoming General and Regional Elections.
The Supervisors, who are in fact GECOM’s Permanent Registration Officers, and who have a vast amount of knowledge and experience in registration and elections management, will function from their respective Registration Offices.
The DROs, who will each be responsible for the management of the elections in a cluster of Electoral Divisions/Sub-Divisions, will operate from temporary offices that have been set up for them in the respective communities within their charge.
Nomination forms accessible on GECOM’s website
GECOM has posted, on its website, all of the forms associated with the submission of Lists of Candidates by political parties for contesting the upcoming General and Regional Elections, as well as an Advisory to guide the parties in preparation of the forms which must be submitted on Nomination Day. The forms could be accessed from the homepage of the GECOM website at www.gecom.org.gy
2011 RLE accessible on GECOM’s website
GECOM has posted, on its website, the Revised List of Electors (RLE) for the upcoming General and Regional Elections. This demonstrates another move by the Commission to provide easy access for all concerned, especially those persons who were newly registered during the recent Claims and Objections exercise, to check the RLE for the inclusion of their names on the RLE, and to verify the accuracy of information pertaining thereto.
Hard copies of the RLE have already been posted at two conspicuous locations within each Electoral Division/Sub-Division across Guyana for public scrutiny. Additionally, copies of the RLE on CD Rom were dispatched to 18 political parties comprising those currently represented in Parliament, and others which have indicated interest to contest the upcoming elections. The data was provided in an Encrypted Stakeholder Application (ESHA) format to facilitate easy search/analysis. The CD Rom also contains summaries of the number of electors by Electoral Districts.
Training of Polling Day staff
GECOM continues to move ahead with its nationwide series of two-day training sessions targeting personnel who will be employed to work throughout Guyana on Polling Day for the upcoming elections. The fourth leg in the series was conducted simultaneously on September 24-25, 2011 in Electoral Districts 1, 3, and at Kamarang in District 8. The first, second and third legs of this exercise which targeted East Coast Demerara and East Bank Demerara, Georgetown, and Electoral Districts 2, 10, Moruka in District 1, was conducted on September 3-4, 10-11, and 17-18, 2011 respectively.
Shortfall of the required number of Polling
Day staff for District 4
Following the conclusion of training of Polling Day staff in District 4, it was found that there exists a shortfall of about 2,000 persons to work at polling stations throughout this District. Consequently, GECOM has moved to re-advertise the need for persons to fill the positions of Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Officer, Poll Clerk, Ballot Clerk/Counting Assistant, and Information Clerk to work on Election Day in District 4, for the upcoming General and Regional Elections.
The specifications for the above positions are being published in the local daily newspapers. The deadline for the submission of applications for the various positions to the Chief Election Officer (CEO) is Friday, October 7, 2011. Thereafter, the applicants will be shortlisted for training at an additional training session for District 4 on dates and at venues to be announced by the Commission. It is advisable that persons who are desirous of submitting applications for any of the above positions do so BY HAND, thereby ensuring that their applications reach the CEO before the deadline for submission of applications.
