In preparation for general election next year, the Guyana Elections Com-mission (GECOM) has again advertised to fill vacancies for a Logistics Manager and a Civic and Voter Education Manager, even as it gave notice to buildings countrywide that will have the preliminary voters list to facilitate the claims and objections period.
GECOM’s Public Rela-tions Officer Yolanda Ward told this newspaper that the two vacancies were not filled when they were advertised in 2021.
Government has said that the next general election will likely be held in November 2025.
The electoral body yesterday advertised for suitably qualified persons to fill the position of a Logistics Manager who will work under the direct supervision of and report to the Assistant Chief Election Officer.
That person, GECOM said, must have a social sciences first degree from a recognized institution, along with “working knowledge of the topography and geography of Guyana and at least five years’ relevant experience”. Work duties include preparing macro plans for the procurement, receipt, security, distribution and eventual recovery of materials and equipment related to elections day activities along with preparing budget estimates for approval and payment schedules for requisite supplies and services.
The Logistics Manager has to also arrange for the provision of security of polling stations throughout the country and must establish a “comprehensive communication system that will facilitate the transmission of election results by GECOM”, the ad said. In addition, this manager would also have to participate in the overall planning for registration of voters, the elections process, and the distribution of national identification cards, among other duties.
The Civic and Voter Education Manager will also work under the supervision of the Assistant Chief Election Officer. This job requires the successful applicant to develop, produce and disseminate materials and monitor the conduct of formal and informal voter education sessions that will provide election specific information and motivational messages to the citizenry, the ad said. This manager will also be required to develop a comprehensive civic/ voter education strategy, and related programmes aimed at identified target groups in various parts of the country, and must collaborate with relevant colleagues in the dissemination of information in order to avoid the transmission of conflicting messages, and equally important, the duplication of effort, it stated.
In addition, this manager must plan, prepare, guide and support the production of appropriate materials, messages and presentations, using the full range of electronic print and other media. And taking into consideration the different levels of understanding amongst the citizens of Guyana for information relating to the nature of democracy, the Civic and Voter Education Manager has to also look at the role of the citizen, and the voter registration and policy processes, and thus design appropriate communication methods and techniques to achieve the desired objective, according to the ad.
This person will be responsible for advising, guiding, monitoring and evaluating the work of the staff of the division, and will account for the division’s overall performance, along with a number of other tasks, it added.
And as it readies its elections machinery, GECOM also gave notice, under the National Regis-tration Act and the National Registration (Residents) Regulations for publication of the Preliminary List of Elec-tors and Claims and Objec-tions dates and processes.
“Pursuant to section 15(L) of the National Registration Act, the Elec-tions Commission appoints the buildings identified in Schedule 2 as the buildings on which shall be affixed the preliminary list of electors prepared by the Com-missioner of Registration under section 14(1) (a) of the National Registration Act,” a notice from GECOM in yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News read.
“Pursuant to section 15(2) of the Act and the Regulations made thereunder, claims and objections, to facilitate the production of revised lists of electors for the registration divisions in each of the registration divisions in each of the Registration Areas set out in Schedule 1, may be made in respect of the entries on the list referenced in paragraph 1 above: (a) with respect to the qualifying date of 30 June 2024, in accordance with sections 6(A)((a) and 14(1)(a) of the Act, and (b) in accordance with the timelines specified in Schedule 3 and the times specified in paragraph 3 below,” it added.
GECOM said that the official hours for the Claims and Objections exercise are at Registration Offices – Monday to Friday from 08:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 hrs to 14:00 hrs.
According to Schedule 3, the day by which the Commissioner of Registra-tion and the Registration Officers shall publish and affix to buildings the Preli-minary List of Electors is 25th June, 2024.
The days on which claims in respect of entries in the Preliminary List shall be tendered to the Registration Officer of each Registration Area so as to be received by him/her are 2nd July 2024 to 15th July 2024 (inclusive).
The days on which objections may be tendered to the Registration Officer of the Registration Area against the inclusion of names on the Preliminary List are 2nd July 2024 to 22nđ July 2024 (inclusive).
Moreover, the day by which the Registration Officers shall begin to hear and determine objections and appeals will be 5th July 2024.
The ad said applications may be made by persons whose names appear in the Preliminary List for change and correction of particulars as shown in the List and effect transfers from one Registration District/Division/Sub-Division to another from July 2nd 2024 to 15th July 2024 (inclusive).
All forms of claims, objections and applications, and decisions made thereon, shall be sent by the Registration Officers to the Commissioner of Registration by 25th July, 2024, the ad stated adding that this period will end on August 7th 2024.
