Training of local observers by the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) is moving full speed ahead across the country, a senior official of the non-governmental organization said.
EAB Project Director, Abbas Mancy, said training has already started in Regions One, Five, Seven, Eight and Nine and the other regions will begin shortly. He also informed that similar exercises were to begin in Georgetown over the weekend where the majority of polling stations will be located and by extension the most persons are needed to be trained.
He stated that training in the hinterland communities went well and despite some logistical challenges that come with theterrain of those areas he could say assuredly that persons there are prepared to monitor polling stations come elections day.
“Despite the challenges we faced in the hinterland and challenges we did have mostly due to logistics our volunteers are prepared and ready for monitoring of polling stations come November 28,” Mancy said. Training is done for half a day.
When asked if this time was enough for volunteers to grasp what was expected by the EAB he stated that the duration each day is sufficient.
“We want to open the polling stations to public scrutiny, educating volunteers for this task isn’t very difficult and yes half a day would be enough,” he said.
Mancy said at least $44 million is being spent to ensure there are enough observers to man polling stations across the country. More than 2,000 persons are being trained to cater for the estimated two thousand polling stations that will be located countrywide. He said the EAB will be training more than two thousand and that figure caters for drop-outs and attrition.
The Guyana Elections Commis-sion (Gecom), which has accredited the EAB as a local observer, said there would be more than 2,000 polling stations for the November 28 general and regional elections. Observers are to receive a stipend of $6,500 per day and Mancy stressed that persons should not see the meagre daily earnings as traditional wages but an allowance to offset expenses for their patriotic acts in ensuring a democratic election.
Funding for training and allowances of volunteers is coming from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Mancy offered profuse thanks. The activities establishing a real-time regional communication system for local observers; providing election-related information to the general public and serving as an interlocutor for stakeholder engagements between and among political parties, donors, other election observer groups, and the public are also funded by USAID.
The EAB had originally wanted to conduct its customary in-house-computer and field test of the more than 475,000 persons on the voters list but vital funding did not come through. The EAB said it did not have enough time to search elsewhere for money for that exercise but is grateful for USAID’s assistance and will make the best of the opportunity to monitor polling stations come November 28.
