With the stakes for Elections 2020 being as high as they are, it is important that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) discharge their myriad obligations today competently and efficiently.
As it relates to GECOM, it must ensure that all those on the voters list can cast their ballots at their designated polling stations without any hassle. It must avail itself to help voters who may not be aware of their polling stations or who are unable to check for this on the GECOM website at https://www.gecom.org.gy/home/ole.
In the last few days, GECOM was prevailed upon to make additions to the number of polling places in various communities after objections were raised that too many voters were being assigned to one building. It is never good practice for such changes to be made just days before voting.
With today having been declared a public holiday and voting to take place between 6 am and 6 pm, there should be no impediment to eligible voters being able to cast their ballots. Nevertheless, GECOM must check all of the areas where concerns had been raised about congestion to ensure that there are no problems.
In the last few days, more tents have also been erected to serve as polling stations. This is not an ideal situation as these tents can be vulnerable in various situations and weather conditions can become oppressive. All of these tents should be checked during today’s polling to ensure that all is well.
GECOM must also be able to respond quickly to any valid concerns at the over 2000 polling stations about materiel shortages and deficiencies in elections personnel. It should also at a moment’s notice be able to provide public assurances to voters via its website and the broadcast media.
As it relates to the GPF, it must ensure that there is no traffic congestion or disorder surrounding any polling place. It must have a presence at all polling stations and ensure that at the close of poll that no station comes under threat or faces intimidation. It must robustly enforce the laws under the Representation of the People Act. Its vigil does not end on polling day but must continue tomorrow and for the rest of the week leading up to the declaration of results and the process for the swearing in of the next President.
We repeat today some of the appeals we have made at previous general elections.
First, exercise your right to vote. It is one of the most cherished and fundamental rights you possess and it is your opportunity to have a role in the grand scheme of governance. As Abraham Lincoln said “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
Second, do nothing to cause a breach of the peace or to incite others by engaging in tendentious arguments or baiting. Let everyone else have a chance to exercise their franchise.
Third, await the official results.
Fourth, do not allow yourself to be used in any attempt to subvert the democratic process or create unrest. In the 2015 general elections, members of the public attacked and terrorised the occupants of a house in Sophia where it was alleged that ballot boxes were being hidden. This was a false report but it resulted in dwellings and vehicles being torched in a most dangerous escalation.
We urge that that there be no gatherings outside of polling stations after their close at 6 pm and that the count of votes be allowed to proceed without hindrance.
We repeat a special appeal to polling day staff. Please execute your obligations and tasks professionally, efficiently and honestly. The 1997 elections drove home starkly how deliberateness and/or carelessness by Presiding Officers in not signing statements of poll and not acting in accordance with the established rules triggered numerous problems that were later amplified and used to discredit the end result in 1997.
We also urge GECOM to do everything within its power to ensure that results from the ten electoral districts are efficiently gathered, collated and released to the public. The longer it takes for these results to be released the more time there is for troublemakers to sow the seeds of dissent and unrest.
Region Four, because of its size, has always tended to be the straggler in terms of delivery of final results. We trust that measures have been put in place for a timelier declaration.
We urge all political parties and the media to ensure that in the handling of complaints they receive from voters that they process these in a responsible manner and engage the staff of GECOM professionally so that problems could be rectified. They also bear an enormous responsibility on polling day and its aftermath to calm fears and to avoid disorder.
All those eligible to vote should do so and do this early. There should be no concerns that chicanery is afoot as there are many safeguards in place and experienced observers from the Carter Center, the Commonwealth, CARICOM, the Organisation of American States and foreign missions in Guyana on the ground.
The process of democratic renewal must be availed to all, received by all and viewed as a means of ensuring that no eligible voter is disenfranchised.
