The Commonwealth Observer Group said that while accuracy in vote tabulation is critical, it is equally clear that the process is time sensitive and said the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) should consult stakeholders with a view to speeding up the process by streamlining it.
This they said in their final report on the Commonwealth’s observing of the elections of November 28, 2011.
Criticisms of GECOM’s handling of the results process have dogged this year’s elections and it is believed that these delays led to increased tensions, already simmering from a caustic campaign season and seething allegations of improprieties being traded across the campaign trail.
In its final report, the body said that the tabulation process suffered from some delays and a degree of uncertainty. Chairman of GECOM Dr. Steve Surujbally said shortly before the revelation of the elections results that the Commission needed to be accurate in tabulating the results and was unapologetic for the length of time it took to complete the process and reveal the results to the public.
The Commonwealth posited that GECOM was less well prepared for “this critical aspect” than for some of the previous steps in the electoral process.
“As a consequence, despite GECOM meeting its own earlier stated deadline and being well within the legal deadline, there was tension as the people awaited the final results,” the Commonwealth Observer Group said in its final report.
The report pointed out that polling staff worked extremely long hours on the day of the election, “and the level of tiredness at the end of the process may partly account for the slow pace of the vote count in the Polling Stations.”
It said that a relief system could be developed, enabling Presiding Officers in particular to have a short break in the course of the day.
