As the Guyana Elections Commission prepares for the holding of General and Regional Elections on March 2, 2020 efforts are being made to work with the Ethnic Relations Commissions (ERC) to improve the Media Monitoring capabilities of both agencies.
Speaking with the media following yesterday’s statutory meeting Government-nominated commissioner Vincent Alexander explained that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is currently being negotiated. This MoU once signed will see GECOM and the ERC collaborating as envisioned in the Representation of the People Act. Their joint efforts will focus on monitoring and responding to racially charged publications during the 2020 Election Period.
Additionally Alexander noted that a proposal has been made to empower Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield to employ temporary staff to fill four essential positions.
“We were supposed to meet today, [because of] the absence or unavailability of a Commissioner, we could not meet to do the interviews and that Commissioner has again indicated that she is unavailable next week and in that context, we have suggested that we give the CEO the authority to recruit temporary staff to carry out the tasks that those vacant positions should be carrying out so that GECOM can get on with its work,” Alexander explained.
The position of Assistant Chief Election Officer, Logistics Officer, Civic and Voter Education Officer and Research Officer remain empty.
He stressed that currently this suggestion remains a suggestions as the Chair has indicated her intention to consult with the CEO, who was absent yesterday, before making a decision.
