Some Orealla and Siparuta residents have said that there were improprieties in the recently held Toshao and councillors elections and are calling for a fresh poll.
Sixty-nine residents and concerned citizens of the Upper Corentyne River Amerindian community have since sent petitions to the Amerindian Affairs Ministry and President Donald Ramotar to show their disgust over the situation and to spread awareness of the several breaches they say took place. This newspaper was presented with a copy of the petition.
Efforts to contact the Amerindian Affairs Ministry and National Toshaos Council for comment proved futile.
Elections were held in Orealla and Siparuta on April 23, 2012 for a new Toshao and Councillors on the Orealla Village Council. In speaking with Stabroek News, Retired Headmaster of the Orealla Primary School, Carl Peneux, who also ran as a councillor in the elections noted the breaches that he and dozens of others of villagers say took place.
He said that the Amerindian Act of 2006 catered for special auditing procedures leading up to an election and these were breached. He mentioned the aspect that states that “not less than three months before the date of the village council elections, the Minister shall arrange for a general audit to be carried out comprising a supplementary financial audit from the data of the last financial audit and an audit of the village council’s records and documents and that the Minister shall give copies of the general audit to the council and the National Toshaos Council and the village council shall call a Village General Meeting immediately after receiving the audit.”
However, Peneux said that what actually took place was that auditors visited Orealla on April 11, 2012 and checked the council’s records. Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai, he noted, visited the community on April 14 “at a meeting held to facilitate her and not the Village General Council and she told the residents about the initial findings of the auditors and did not even allow any discussions on what she said”. He charged that the Minister appeared to favour the incumbent Orealla Village Council when she indicated that “the auditors found minor mistakes and nothing to be alarmed about and that their reports were even better than those of some other communities”.
Peneux added that the elections were held a few days later and that “the whole process occurred in a matter of 12 days— contrary to what is stipulated in the laws of the Act of 2006”.
Speaking on the second breach, he noted that the Supplementary Voters’ List, which he alleged, was not posted, contained “some names of persons not eligible to vote and that those persons are not living in Orealla but were allowed to vote”.
Thirdly, he said that election materials were left in a “haphazard manner in the elections venue” contrary to what the Elections regulations catered for, in that the Returning Officer, Elections Clerk and any Deputy Election Clerk shall ensure that all elections materials are kept in a locked place free from tampering or unauthorised access.
He added that the ballot boxes “were ordinary carton boxes which could not have been locked and secured with keys”. Voters, he said, who were supposed to have identified themselves to the elections clerk by producing the relevant identification source documents “did not identify themselves to the election clerk by producing an identification document or by having their identity confirmed by any other person on the electoral list…”
“Apart from what is already stated, Madam Minister, the elections were not free-and-fair. The Returning Officer allowed a lot of canvassing to take place in the elections venue”. He noted, too, that some voters, “especially the elderly and some youths were intimidated and forced to accept lists of candidates they preferred not to vote for and because of all of the circumstances and reasons, we hereby call for an immediate investigation into these breaches and thereafter we strongly request for new elections for Toshaos and councillors”.
Peneux said that currently, there is discord in the villages, since “people do not want to cooperate with the new Orealla Village Council Chairman”.
Peneux has discussed the matter and issues raised with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, who said the Minister will “look into the matter” when she returns. The elected Toshao of the Orealla-Siparuta areas is Floyd Edwards.
When contacted, Region 6 Chairman, David Armogan was surprised about the issue since he said it was the first time he was hearing about the discrepancies and grouses by the residents. “As far as I know, our boys from the Region 6 Administration were there (in Orealla) until 12, 1 am counting votes— nobody reported anything to me— it is strange that two weeks after elections we are getting allegations of corruption— we should have heard this the next morning (after the elections)”.
He said that the elections are over and the residents have a right to challenge, if they feel so, in the court of law “but that is a matter for the Amerindian Affairs Ministry”.
One of the Region 6 Administration’s representatives who oversaw the conduct of the elections, he said, was Imran Ally, Deputy- Regional Executive Officer, who he said told him “that everyone was satisfied with the conduct of the elections for Toshaos and were all in agreement with what transpired”.
When contacted, Ally, the returning officer, told Stabroek News that “we received a petition and channeled it to the appropriate agency and we are awaiting a declaration by the Ministry (of Amerindian Affairs)”. He urged that the respective Ministry handle the issue “because it is a very sensitive one and we will take it from there”.
