…COVID-19 Task Force advises GECOM against increasing workstations
THE National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) on Thursday advised the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) against establishing additional workstations at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in the interest of public safety amid the COVID-19 epidemic.
“Conscious of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) nature and scope of activities at this time, the National COVID-19 Taskforce HEOC deliberations have arrived at that conclusion that public safety and wellness remains the primary focus to mitigate the negative impact and to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Coordinator of the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) Dr Colin James said in a letter addressed to the Chair of GECOM, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh on Thursday.
In arriving at the position, James in the letter explained that the national task force HEOC diligently reviewed its reports to the commission dated April 21, 2020 and May 15, 2020, and determined that it cannot accede to the request for the installation and operation of additional workstations – a move that would have resulted in an increase in the number of persons at the conference centre during the period of recount.
The response from the COVID-19 task force comes more than a week after the elections commission sought its advice.
On May 18 the task force in response to an earlier request, gave the elections commission clearance to set up two additional workstations, though citing a number of infractions with respect to the enforcement of precautionary measures to prevent any possible spread of the coronavirus.
The number of workstations was increased from 10 to 12 resulting in a significant increase in the number of ballot boxes processed on a daily basis; however, on May 20, commission penned another letter to the COVID-19 task force seeking advice on the establishment of two more workstations.
GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward, justifying the commission’s request last week, said while there are now a total of 12 workstations engaged in the recounting of ballots, two more workstations are needed to effectively increase the pace at which the ballot boxes are being processed.
To date close to 1,473 ballot boxes have been processed; however, there are more than 800 ballot boxes left to be processed though the initial 25-day timeline will expire in a day. The elections secretariat however has proposed that the deadline be extended to June 13 for completion of the recount, including submission of the report of Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield.
GECOM CANNOT ACT IN ISOLATION
While underscoring the need to have additional workstations established, Ward had cautioned that though GECOM’s independence is safeguarded by the Constitution of Guyana, it cannot operate in isolation especially when the country and the world at large are battling with a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of thousands with 10 local deaths recorded, and more than 120 local cases confirmed.
There has been a repeated push particularly by the main opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – for GECOM to establish workstations as it deems necessary, but Ward underscored the importance of soliciting expert advice in this regard. “We also need to be sure that we do not put people’s lives at risk, and we are not health professionals and therefore, while we would have to make some decisions, the guidance of those persons, who are professionals and practitioners in this particular area is of importance,” the elections commission public relations officer reasoned.
Elections Commissioner Vincent Alexander, weighing in on this issue earlier, said though GECOM is autonomous the issue at hand is not electoral in nature. “The question before us is not merely a question about elections; it is a health issue, a national health issue and in those circumstances there would be some other body that has authority in that regard, and GECOM has to work with that body,” Alexander reasoned, while calling for mutual respect for the organs of the state. The commission is likely to deliberate on the advice of the National COVID-19 Task Force when it meets today at the conference centre.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_30_05_2020