GEORGETOWN, Guyana -The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says “it has been a smooth day” as Guyanese voters await the outcome of Monday’s general and regional elections.
GECOM’s public relations officer, Yolanda Ward, speaking at the news conference on Monday night (CMC Photo)GECOM’s public relations officer, Yolanda Ward, told a news conference that people should await only the official results of the elections, expressing concern that some figures relating to the elections were being posted on social media.
She said it was wrong to have indicated that the counting of the ballots at any polling station would have commenced, saying “this despicable act can only be seen as creating a platform on which the political party…can create the impression that it has been successful at the polls.
“GECOM takes the opportunity once again to appeal to all stakeholders to accept only the results of the elections that are posted on GECOM’s website in the form of statement of poll (SOP) to the official declarations made by …the returning officers…and the national results to be declared by GECOM”.
Ward said the publication of fake results “will be put to the Guyana Police Force for investigation”.
She reiterated that it would also be “ prematurely tell you about turnout will be” adding “what might work for you may not work for us.
“But from a GECOM standpoint, as the electoral management body, I prefer for us to look at numbers before we make such a pronouncement on turnout,” she said, adding “we have stayed away from preliminary results.
“Again for us all, GECOM is the ony authority to release the election results, “ she told reporters, adding it is important for electors to be aware only of what GECOM publishes.
Ward said GECOM would also be investigating reports that at least one polling station had closed one minute before the schedule 6.00 pm (local time) saying “we would have to look into that because the polling stations close at 6.00 pm”.
Ward said GECOM wanted to apologize to the members of the disability community after many were unable to properly access polling stations despite longstanding recommendations for better facilities.
“I want to really apologize to the members of the disability community. I am very cognizant that this is an issue we continue to face,” Ward said, acknowledging that some of the recommendations would need to be legislated “and outside of that we may not be able to implement some of the recommendations”..
She explained that under the law, electors must be placed at specific polling stations within their divisions and subdivisions. As a result, some voters with disabilities were assigned to stations that lacked ramps or other provisions for easier access.
Ward said to mitigate this, presiding officers were instructed to provide assistance where necessary to ensure persons with disabilities were still able to cast their ballots.
WARD said GECOM has provided polling day staff with solar lamps so that the counting of the ballots can continue uninterrupted throughout the night.
“We have backup systems in place to allow for that,” she said, adding “all polling stations provided with solar lamps to facilitate that process”.
Beyond the counting of the ballots, the process of tabulating the results from the various SOPs must unfold. The SOPs are to be uploaded to the GECOM website as they are received for all to access.
“At the offices of Returning Officers and Supernumerary Officers, backup systems are in place to allow for the backup and scanning of SOPs to take place uninterrupted,” Ward told reporters, clarifying also questions raised over Bangladeshi nationals voting on Commonwealth identification cards, multiple voters registered at one address and procedures for persons without ID cards.
Six parties – the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C),the coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Alliance For Chang (AFC), Forward Guyana Movement and Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity – are contesting the elections.
Six candidates are contesting the position of President during the elections. They are the incumbent, President Irfaan Ali, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, attorney Nigel Hughes of the AFC, Azruddin Mohamed of WIN, Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement and the leader of the Assembly for Liberty & Prosperity (ALP) movement, Dr. Simona Broomes.
There are 2,790 polling stations countrywide being observed by 500 local and 200 international observers.
GECOM has already indicated that the results of the elections should be known by September 4.
