The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) last evening confirmed that a Presiding Officer was fired after she was found to be publicly campaigning for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
Asked to confirm the firing of the official for a polling station located at Enmore, East Coast Demerara, GECOM spokeswoman Yolanda Ward said “she was removed from the position.”
Ward later explained to Stabroek News that while she did not know the name of the officer, she was aware that a Presiding Officer had been removed for publicly campaigning.
On Thursday, pictures of the person purported to be the officer dressed in PPP/C paraphernalia were posted on Facebook. The person who made the post claimed that the officer had been campaigning while employed by the Commission, in a position which requires political neutrality.
The issue was brought to the attention of the Returning Officer of Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, and the staff member was let go.
The Presiding Officers are responsible for the management of the operations of polling stations.
