Dear Editor,
I am supporting the call for verification of the statements of poll (SOPs).
I am a member of the Guyanese diaspora who did not vote on November 28th, 2011 but volunteered as an observer. My partner and I worked with 21 Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) observers at 23 polling stations in Region 4.
Twenty of them were female and most were under 30 years of age. They got to the polls at 5:30 am and most did not turn in their SOPs to us until after 11:30 pm. By the time we submitted our SOPs and got home it was 2:30 am.
Our people as well as the other five to six people in the stations were very diligent and dedicated. We visited each station at least four times and spent enough time to see that they took their tasks seriously, leaving to vote and returning immediately. It was a joy to be in their company and sharing in this important task. They remained brave in the face of rumours of violence in nearby stations and stuck to their task with what seemed to be renewed resolve. Therefore, I am deeply disturbed that the efforts of their long, hard, tedious work may be ignored. We all put the time and effort into this process in the event of questions being raised, such as they have been by APNU and the AFC. I think GECOM needs to realize that the over 5,000 people who spent the time on election day observing the count must be asking what was the use, if their efforts are going to be ignored. They should also be mindful that over 65% of the electorate did not vote for the man sworn in as their President today. That is, almost two in every three adult Guyanese and many of us in the diaspora are wondering if the right person was sworn in. Please do the right thing, verify the count. Remember, we “a watch you”.
Yours faithfully,
Rory Fraser, PhD
Professor
Forest Economics and Policy
Alabama A&M University
Normal, Alabama, USA
(Visiting) University of Guyana
Turkeyen, Guyana
