DESPITE efforts of the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOMs) to facilitate smooth elections, there were several reported cases in which electors felt that there was hindrance to their democratic right to vote. The gravest result of these reports was realised in Mon Repos on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) where it was alleged that an individual had attempted to vote twice.
A standoff ensued with high emotions that afternoon and police were called to the scene as supporters from each side refused to leave the particular polling place until the declaration of polls.
At a press conference at around 20:30hrs, GECOM informed the media that it has launched an investigation into the matter in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF). Added to this, five men were arrested on Monday with arms and ammunition near a polling place in Ambrose Village. However, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, said that he hadn’t received any reports about the matter.
“I’m aware that in District 3, police were called out and there again I was advised that there was a standoff at Sisters Village in District 3,” the CEO said. “At another point in time we were told that there was a build-up of individuals at Patentia. Our investigations revealed that this was not so.”
The media also queried about allegations coming out of Region Two that someone may have wrongfully voted in proxy for another person. Lowenfield said that such a matter was not reported to him. There were also reports coming out of Region 3 that persons were turned away from polling stations because they were wearing political party colours.
While noting that she had received no reports of the same, GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, said that a colour without a party symbol/slogan remains just a colour. “The law is silent on colours,” she said. “We have asked the political parties to be responsible because they signed a Code of Conduct… [but] we have now 11 parties and it would be difficult to identify. The colours that people would identify quickly are yellow, green and red but they’re not so au fait with the other colours. But, if somebody goes into a polling station with those colours it would just be a colour.”
However, she noted that canvasing is a completely different act even as she reminded that the law prohibits campaigning within 200 feet of a polling place on E-Day. The CEO also responded to the fact that a “handful” of persons would have been affected by incorrect information regarding their place of address and polling place due to cross-matching issues following the recent house-to-house registration exercise and Claims and Objections (C&O).
Although some cases were alleged on E-Day, Lowenfield assured that the Commission had dedicated post-elections day efforts to remedying situations highlighted to them.
“Yes, there were instances of displacement,” he told the media. “In the case of 660,000, 25 is a handful…they’ve approached our office and indicated that we’ve displaced them and we made arrangements to ensure that they exercised their franchise.”
In some instances, persons were affected when GECOM staff notified them that their names were not on the Official List of Electors (OLE). Earlier in the day at Selman Fraser Nursery School in Georgetown, a physically disabled man by the name of Omar Cooper told the newspaper that he had visited his polling station since 05:00hrs but was being given the royal run around up and down the stairs of the building as the staff told him his name was not on the list.
Both of the man’s legs and one arm were broken in 1991 which left him somewhat disabled. It wasn’t until the Guyana Chronicle sought the help of a GECOM staff to meet the man outside of the polling station where he sat, about to give up, that the situation was rectified.
“Voting is important and I go by instruction but when I come here now, downstairs said upstairs, upstairs said go the other section. When I go there, they can’t find my name. I can’t walk all over the place,” he said.
Another elderly woman with her great grandson at the same polling station, told the newspaper that she was told that her Identification (ID) Card was too old and her name was not on the list. “I have a bad leg and I can’t [stand all day], she said. “This is madness.” Over at Diamond Secondary, GECOM Commissioner Desmond Trotman responded to queries of reporters as to whether it was okay for members of the electorate to cast their ballots with a pen.
This is following reports coming out of Friendship, East Bank Demerara (ECD) that an individual had visited a polling booth with a pen and left it there which saw many persons unknowingly using the said pen instead of the pencil provided. “I don’t think that even if those persons voted with pen it would have spoiled their votes,” Trotman said. Still speaking to concerns, he mentioned the report of Presiding Officers (POs) that some ballot stamps were not working as they should.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_03_03_2020