Members of the Disciplined Forces yesterday cast their ballots in what was deemed an incident-free and smooth process leading up to the main day of voting on June 12.
When Stabroek News contacted the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), it was explained by Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward that there were no hiccups and the process was smooth.
“The day’s activities went smoothly, across the board. Polls opened at six, and I’m sure we closed promptly at 6 pm. We will commence the process as the teams come in to reconcile to see voting across the board in terms of the number of officers voting and so on.”
People’s Progressive Party/Civic-appointed GECOM Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, when contacted also noted that there had been no major issues in yesterday’s voting process.
“Everything smooth. I did not receive any bad report. I visited all of the stations around Georgetown, I have received reports from interior locations; nothing major.”
General Secretary Denzel Hill of the Movement for Unity and Democracy (MUD), when contacted also said that the process went well, despite the challenges GECOM faces internally.
“It seems as though GECOM is back on its feet. There are still some issues which internally the body needs to address other than that it was a smooth process today” Hill stated
Member of the Citizens Initiative, Shaz Ally, also commented on the proceedings, and noted that he saw no hiccups in the process.
“I believe it went smooth. I didn’t see issues, I mean it’s not much persons had to vote today but I think it was very smooth; no hiccups.”
Yesterday’s voting process is expected to serve as a dry run for the main voting on June 12. Joint Services members are required to vote just before the main elections because of security and logistical reasons.
GECOM had said that 9,093 persons were eligible to vote. Votes were cast at 84 ballot stations across the country according to information from GECOM. The votes will be counted on Election Day, according to the PRO.
“Those votes are counted on E-Day. The intermixing of ballots, where those votes are counted will be gazetted and on E-Day they will be escorted under security to those polling stations where they will stamped with the six digit stamp and counted there because they will be going through a process of sorting those ballots now that came in by local authority area and on election day, which is June 12th they will dispatched to the identified polling stations for intermixing and that’s where they will be counted,” Ward said.
The turnout at local government elections in Guyana tends to be generally low and no official figures were available yesterday. Citizens Initiative Candidate, Ally, rated the turnout as decent.
“I wouldn’t say low but it looked low because it’s just the disciplined forces members but it looked decent enough .. and some of them would have gone later in the afternoon.”
PPP/C-appointed Commissioner Gunraj noted, “Most places had a few people, there were no large crowds.”
On the other hand, Gunraj acknowledged that the truth about the voting will only be known when the ballots are all counted.
Hill also pointed out that going ahead things must change in the way people are taught about elections and that will be the factor for more votes.
“What political parties need to do is to not just push their candidates but also educate the people about the importance of local government. I know GECOM has been running countless number of education (ads) over various medias but in the process when our candidates are out there or their party reps while in the process of saying we want this individual to sit on the council; we got to let them know why this individual should be there and what part the general public plays as it relates to local government.”
Additionally, he noted that there still is time before E-Day that things can change for a better turnout.
There was a smooth flow of voting by members of the disciplined services in Region Two as they opted to vote early Friday morning in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region.
According to the region’s commander, Superintendent Khemraj Shivbaran, there were no hiccups and members came out to vote early. He said 193 officers were scheduled to vote in the Division with 122 voting at Anna Regina, 50 at Suddie, and 21 at Charity.
Up to press time 98 officers had voted in the region. Shivbaran said that those who had to vote did so very early and he is hoping the others come out early to cast their votes.
Several joint services officers when interviewed said that they were happy to exercise their right to vote.
“It is a democratic right and I ensure that I cast my vote, I want to encourage people to come out and vote cause it’s one of your rights to do so” Alfred Madray said.
Other officers expressed similar sentiments. A drive along the Essequibo Coast revealed that there were no lines for voting and the three polling stations were relatively quiet as members of the joint services cast their votes.
The ballot boxes will be taken to the GECOM after voting and will be sorted by Local Authority Area and constituency. It will be then dispatched to the respective returning officers for intermixing on Election Day, June 12.
No major issues were reported in Region Six.
In Region Six, members of the Disciplined Services could be seen in queues at their designated polling stations as early as 6 am yesterday.
In Region Six, four locations: New Amsterdam Police Station, New Amsterdam Prison Club, Whim Police Station, and Springlands Police Station were designated for voting.
At the New Amsterdam Police Station, 344 police officers along with 7 soldiers were on the list to vote, while at the New Amsterdam Prison Club, 80 police officers were slated to vote. Further, 23 police officers were expected to vote at the Whim Police Station, and 54 police officers and 6 soldiers at the Springlands Police Station.
Commander of Region Six, Shivpersaud Bacchus, yesterday relayed that the process had been a smooth and simple one, “they come and line up and go and vote and just go and carry on with the day.”
He stressed, that there was no hiccups throughout the process, “the ballot box was uplifted from here and escorted and polls commenced at 06.00 hrs.”
Touching on preparations for the upcoming elections on June 12, Bacchus said the mood is a positive one as they are expecting a smooth flow of the process as well.
Ranks in New Amsterdam yesterday also said that the process was extremely smooth and easy. Ranks were able to cast their ballots in a matter of minutes as the line moved quickly and there was no build or delay at any time.
