…observes no provisions for differently abled
Ambassador of the European Union to Guyana, Jernej Videtič, who was an observer at this year’s Local Government Elections (LGE) says the process was a smooth one and all procedures were well organised.
This was related after he would have visited some of the polling stations across Guyana to check upon the pace at which ballots were cast. He noted that he would have stood as an observer two years ago during the previous LGE, but the method was “excellent” this time around.
“We went as observers and we had done it two years ago, so I think compared to what was [done] two years ago, it was even better prepared. We went to five local polling stations and in all the polling stations, the procedures were the same,” the Ambassador said.
He mentioned the fact that persons with disabilities also came out in their numbers despite the challenges to vote.
“The control was there, and it was running smoothly like it should work in a normal democracy. We had a good impression and we also see that disabled people came to vote and they’ve done their best to give them an opportunity to vote. I found it excellent.”
Monday saw a low turnout of voters throughout the country and there was a slower pace than expected.
The polling stations opened to a sluggish start but after a few hours, the number of voters was constant. Villages like Den Amstel, Hague, Blankenburg, La Jalousie, Windsor Forest, Crane, Best and Vreed-en-Hoop recorded a small turnout and it was the same on the East Bank at Covent Garden, Providence and Peter’s Hall. Berbice and the Essequibo coast faced the same fate.
Other than that, it was heard that many persons were told that they were not allowed to vote because their names were not on the registered voters’ list. However, upon checking, they were eligible to vote while others were referred to other polling stations.
Concerns also surfaced about the quality of ink used. Throughout the day, voters complained about concentrated substance being easily washed off and it was difficult to tell if they had voted or not.
It also caught the attention of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo who stated, “I have had numerous reports that it could be easily removed so what we have asked our polling agents now is to pay particular attention to people who have voted before may attempt to come back in and vote so that is one safeguard against ink being removed so we asked our polling agents to look at this.”
Upon inquiry, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Warde told media operatives that the Commission had leftover ink from the 2016 Local Government Elections and this was reused.
