Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Dr Steve Surujbally says he is confident that the electoral body will deliver a credible voters’ list that would be accepted by all political parties.
Surujbally made the comment while speaking with this newspaper during a recent interview. In previous elections, the integrity of the voters’ list was questioned. “Read my lips, I have no concerns or fears whatsoever that this list will be widely supported and elections this year will be more superlative than those held in 2006,” the elections chairman declared.
Surujbally said that GECOM may be in a position to give President Bharrat Jagdeo the nod to set an elections date long before Parliament is constitutionally due to be dissolved on September 28. He stated that all plans are on course to run off the elections. ” Of course, there are several statutory and important electoral tasks that must be undertaken before we are ready, but I dare say that because of all of the sanitisation has already taken place in relation to the voters list, the final list could be ready way in advance of September 28,” Surujbally said.
“We are on the ball and we have no problems now with anything that can potentially compromise the hosting of elections this year, at least as far as I can see.”
He was adamant that once the claims and objections period gets started, all of the other electoral activities as stipulated in the commission’s elections action plan will run smoothly. There is a slight delay in the commencement of the claims and objections period, because GECOM was still working out issues with respect to the procurement and shipment of toner for the printing of national identification cards.
Dr Surujbally recently advised Guyana Times International that the toner has arrived and the printing of ID cards has commenced.
GECOM is still investigating reports of more than 100 duplicate ID cards discovered after another round of continuous registration was carried out.
After the claims and objections period is completed, the commission will have to publish a preliminary list of electors, a voter list and then a final voters list, which will contain the names of all electors.
Satisfactory periods would be allotted for concerns, objections and other issues in relation to these lists to be reported to GECOM.
On the issue of adequate funds being released to the commission for its operations, Surujbally said he was not aware that the commission is facing difficulties in this respect. The AFC recently had accused the government of not making timely disbursements to the commission.
