Electors listed in the 2011 Official List of Electors will be allowed to vote if they are not in possession of their ID cards
The Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) has taken note of information published in sections of the media eg on page 13 of the Guyana Chronicle of November 5, 2011, that persons will not be allowed to vote if they are not in possession of their ID cards. This information is totally false and very misleading.
National identification card and valid passports will be used to verify the identity of electors who are listed in the 2011 Official List of Electors (OLE). However, if an elector is not in possession of his/her ID card, the oath of identity will be administered in accordance with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03. In this regard, the folio with electors’ photographs alongside their names and identification numbers, which will be in the possession of the presiding officer and the party agents at the respective polling stations, will be used to verify the identity of the voter.
ID cards (“red” and “green”) which were issued prior to October, 2009, will not be accepted as a means of identification for voting at the upcoming Elections. Persons who are not listed in the 2011 OLE will not be allowed to vote at the elections.
OAS Assistant Secretary General pays courtesy call on Gecom Chairman
Assistant Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Ambassador Albert Ramdin paid a courtesy call on Dr Steve Surujbally, Chairman of Gecom, on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at Dr Surujbally’s office.
During interactive discussions, Dr Surujbally updated Ambassador Ramdin about the status of Gecom‘s state of preparedness for the conduct of the 2011 General and Regional elections. Ambassador Ramdin confirmed that the OAS will be observing these elections.
Disciplined services to vote on Monday, November 21, 2011 – List of Electors posted on Gecom website
Balloting (voting) by members of the Disciplined Services, including the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, and the Guyana Prison Service, will take place on Monday, November 21, 2011. The list of locations of the 70 places which will be established throughout Guyana for the members of the Disciplined Forces to cast their ballots on Monday, November 21, 2011, and the Disciplined Services List of Electors are accessible on the Gecom website www.gecom.org.gy
The hours of voting by members of the Disciplined Services are 07:00 hrs to 19:00 hrs (7:00 am to 7:00 pm).
The secrecy of the votes of members of the Disciplined Services who vote on Monday, November 21, 2011 is guaranteed
The votes that will be cast by members of the Disciplined Services on Monday, November 21, 2011 will sent directly to the Chief Election Officer in individual envelopes sealed by the members themselves immediately after voting,
The Chief Election Officer, or his duly appointed representative, will sort the envelopes with the ballots and place each envelope in the appropriate packet to be sent through the respective returning officers for the votes to be cast, at the relevant polling stations in the district where they live, before the close of poll on election day.
Before the close of the poll on election day, in the presence of the polling agents present, the presiding officer will verify the number of envelopes, and inform the polling agents of his/her proposed action to intermix the Disciplined Services ballots with the ordinary ballots cast at the polling station.
The presiding officer will then open each envelope with the marked ballots without exposing the secrecy of the ballots, stamp them with the official six digit number for that polling station at the top section for general election and at the bottom section for regional election, and insert the folded ballot paper into the ballot box in the full view of all present.
Ranks who voted will then be deemed to have cast their votes in the district in which the relevant polling stations are situated.
National ID cards issued before October 2009 decommissioned
In accordance with section 12 (v) of the Election Laws Amendment Act (No 15 of 2000), which states that “an identification card tendered to a presiding officer on elections day by an elector shall be the latest identification card issued to him (her), Mr Gocool Boodoo, the Commissioner of National Registration and Chief Election Officer has given notice that all national identification cards issued by the Guyana Elections Commission before October, 2009 shall not be valid for the purpose of voting for the General and Regional Elections, 2011.
All registrants who have not as yet uplifted their ID cards are urged to go to the registration offices associated with their respective areas of residence to collect their new ID cards without delay.
The current ID card distribution exercise will end two days before election day – Friday, November 25, 2011.
