Dear Editor,
APNU and AFC together should call for an independent judicial enquiry headed by a senior judge to be convened immediately to investigate electoral irregularities, including the following, and ensure that errors are corrected.
1. Locating polling stations in private houses.
2. Deploying single voter lists covering more than one polling station when more than one polling station was located in a single building.
3. Choosing a finger-marking dye that is slow to develop colour, hence facilitating the possibility of multiple voting (before the colour developed) when more than one polling station was located in a single building.
4. Moving the location of polling stations two days before voting day.
5. Not allowing polling agents to vote at the places where they were working, effectively disenfranchising them.
6. Voting lists wholly or partly missing at polling stations, or split.
7. Admitting unauthorized ‘helpers’ into polling stations.
8. Dismissing the significance of the evidence of Gecom seals found discarded in public places.
9. Accepting Statements of Poll at Gecom HQ from unescorted, undocumented messengers.
10. Being unresponsive to allegations of irregularities, except in the case of one Gecom seal.
Guyanese citizens might consider the implications of Dr Surujbally’s observation at the Gecom meeting on December 1 that India with 773 million electors is able to declare the results overnight. Gecom should be required to develop and publish standard operating procedures for national and local government elections in Guyana so that all stakeholders can see what they are supposed to be doing.
Yours faithfully,
Janette Bulkan
