Although there appeared to be a low turnout, it was mostly smooth sailing yesterday as members of the disciplined services cast their ballots in the historic 2016 local government elections (LGE).
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield told Stabroek News that generally the day went well.
“We did not experience many problems. Ranks came not in the hundreds or thousands but there was a steady stream of small groups throughout the day,” Lowenfield said. He noted that he could not yet say what the turnout rate was around the country.
The rest of the country will vote on March 18, which marks the first time the elections have been held in Guyana since 1994. It will also be third time that the elections are being held since they were first conducted in 1970.
Speaking with Stabroek News last evening, representatives of four of the six political groups contesting in the proportional representation elections in Georgetown said they were pleased with the way the voting progressed, while the US Embassy, which observed the elections across the country, said that it “found nothing to question the integrity or credibility of the critical phase of the voting process.”
Mark Benschop, of Team Benschop for Mayor, said that his group visited several polling stations and observed a very smooth and transparent process, with which it was pretty satisfied.
“We hope this transparency continues throughout the process on March 18 and the counting which follows,” he said, while adding that he wished to thank the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) and the observer teams for their work yesterday. He also expressed gratitude to those members of the joint services who took time to vote.
He, however, noted that he was “not necessarily satisfied with turnout,” though it was what was expected.
Team Legacy’s Kelvin Bovell also expressed disappointment at the sparse number of voters but said that his team found the process to be smooth and easy for most.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Clayon Halley, of the group Youth for Local Government, who, while noting that the turnout was not the best, said his group was pleased with the process.
yesterday.
Joshua Griffith, of the Guyana Nation Building Corps (GNBC) also noted the low voter turnout. Nevertheless, he expressed satisfaction with the work of Gecom’s staff and his team’s gratitude to yesterday’s voters.
“GNBC would like to thank the members of the disciplined services for leading the way in this historic elections. We especially would like to acknowledge on this International Women’s Day the women who exercised their hard won franchise,” Griffith said.
A senior member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) told Stabroek News that ranks found the voting process to be comfortable and accommodating.
He noted that because service members are constantly being redeployed, the force had instances of service members showing up at incorrect polling stations and having to be transported so that they could exercise their franchise.
This redeployment also resulted in some ranks being without identification but Gecom staff competently handled the situation and ranks were able to vote, the official said.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), in a press release, did express concern about this phenomenon, while noting that “a significant number of these electors are presenting themselves without any form of identification in order to vote.”
Although it noted that it is possible for an elector to vote without an ID card, the party said it found the situation “very alarming.”
Guyana’s law provides for a registered voter to be identified through a “folio” containing all voter information, including picture, if s/he is not in possession of a form of identification. Gecom, however, is advising that this be used only as a secondary means of identification, with the National Identification Card remaining the primary means of voter identification.
Meanwhile, members of the Guyana Police Force were not impressed with the efforts of most candidates in making themselves familiar to the voters.
While they also found the process of voting smooth, a police source noted that the ranks “were not as enthusiastic about LGE as they were about general elections.”
He reported complaints from the ranks that the candidates in the first-past-the-post system were unknown to them, with some of the ranks claiming to have never seen them before their faces appeared on the ballots, while others were wary of some candidates who were familiar to them for unsavory reasons.
In Berbice, members of Guyana Prison Service reported that they were unaware that yesterday had been designated for them to exercise their franchise. Shortly after 6 am, they indicated that they had been informed that they would be voting yesterday after they had assumed duty the previous evening. Consequently, they were not in possession of their National Identification Cards and some opted to go home and return with the identification document. Some, however, told this newspaper that they would not vote, as they were not familiar with the candidates contesting the elections in their constituencies. Some police ranks in Berbice also said they too were unaware that yesterday was Election Day.
Police described the process as organised, while Assistant Superintendent of Prisons Paul James, cast the first ballot for the prison service in the county, said it was smooth and transparent.
Candidate Patricia Lynch, who is contesting for the Angoy’s Avenue constituency, was very concerned over the voter turnout in the New Amsterdam Township.
All persons speaking with this newspaper acknowledged that there still appears to be a serious need for voter education about the various contesting entities as well as the respective places of poll.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy noted in a press release that “a sizable number of prospective voters in some areas arrived at the incorrect polling location or without national identification cards.” While it acknowledged that “Gecom procedures were wholly adequate to deal with these eventualities and that polling staff performed admirably in ensuring the integrity of the process while avoiding voter disenfranchisement,” it said these “observations point to the need for all stakeholders to redouble voter education and mobilization efforts in advance of the March 18 general vote.”
