Dear Editor,
The news that the GECOM Chair will talk to the media soon is very welcome news. The public’s patience has run out waiting for the new Chair to say something and inform the nation of the schedule and timelines for the way forward. Expectations were high that at a time when the nation was on the brink, the new Chair would come in and restore order and dignity to GECOM. The Chair must ensure that there is transparency, ongoing communication with the public and media, and the allaying of fears. It is confusing with the PNC and PPP commissioners giving differing views at the end of GECOM meetings. It’s a bad practice for each party’s camp to be talking to the media and give their own interpretations of what happened, and the Chair is silent.
The media needs to get to the bottom of what’s going on at the commission. We want to know who authorised false information to be gazetted that led to a retraction, after creating much confusion. Can the public relations people issue media releases without the Chair signing off? Why is it that no one was fired for this major fiasco? The media needs to find out if the Chair is running things, if the Chief Elections Officer is running things, or whether the PNC’s Alexander is running the show. The public wants to know if the house-to-house data is considered valid in the absence of the PPP scrutineers. The PPP said their scrutineers were not invited. Is that true? Why is this list released separately from the list used for the 2015, 2016 and 2018 elections? The public needs to know if the Chair is seeking assistance from many international bodies to be election observers, as this election is poised to be a tense one. It is the presence of these observers that would discourage any likely election day violence. Thank God for US President Carter in 1992 whose presence saved the entire election.
We want to know what measures are being put in place to make sure election results are available soon after the closing of poll using totals from the statements of poll. There is absolutely no reason why it should take several days for the results to be announced. We want to know that there are clear rules for automatic recount of votes where tallies are close. We remember that in Region Eight in 2015, the PPP lost by one vote and there was no recount by GECOM. This is simply unacceptable. The Chair must announce how loopholes are being blocked to ensure a free and fair election.
The GECOM Chair simply cannot continue a modus operandi of silence when there are burning questions and issues to be addressed. Madame Chair, the nation looks to your dynamic, bold leadership at such a time as this. Take control of GECOM and let heads roll as needed. A weekly media briefing would be nice.
Yours faithfully,
Jerry Singh
