Opposition political parties are urging the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to be more open about preparations for the upcoming general elections. GECOM, however, has said that its senior functionaries are well aware of their responsibilities, and are committed to discharging those without fear or bias.
At its weekly press conference on Wednesday, August 24, the Alliance For Change (AFC) called on GECOM to be more open and public with information on the status of its readiness to conduct elections. The party believes that its recommended approach would enhance public confidence in GECOM.
“This would minimise any perception that those political parties whose nominees are members of the commission enjoy access to critical information not available to parties such as the AFC,” the statement added.
The AFC dispatched another letter to GECOM on August 24, asking for an update on the results of the cross-matching of fingerprints. In the first instance, it sought a general update and estimates of the earliest possible date the commission would be ready to hold elections.
The AFC said its own estimation of November 14 was confirmed by GECOM in a response.
“While we have full confidence in GECOM’s competence and ability to complete its planned tasks, we believe that these should be accomplished in a transparent manner, and that the public should be kept informed on the progress of their work,” the AFC further stated.
Public Relations Officer of GECOM, Vishnu Persaud, said the information the AFC is seeking had already been publicised in the media. He pointed out that the results came in since last Friday, August 19, and are currently being analysed.
Meanwhile, the People’s National Congress Reform, has accused the commission of not living up to its constitutional obligation to provide the list of new registrants to registered political parties, but GECOM has since rectified this.
But according to the PNCR, it has only been provided with an “Alpha List of New Registrants” bereft of any of the necessary particulars to be included in “the Preliminary List”, which would enable the party to conduct its own review and analysis of the list of new registration transactions which were undertaken by GECOM.
“The PNCR takes this opportunity to remind the Chairman and CEO of GECOM that it is their constitutional and statutory responsibility to ensure that, in conformity with the Representation of the People Act, there is a non-discriminatory and level playing field for all parties contesting the 2011 general and regional elections,” the party had said in a statement.
However, GECOM assured on August 24 that its chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally; the Chief Elections Officer, Goocool Boodhoo; and every member of the senior staff of the secretariat were fully aware of their statutory and administrative responsibilities, and would always strive to honour their duties without fear, favour or bias,” a statement issued in response to these allegations declared. According to GECOM, Dr Surujbally sent to the PNCR an electronic list of the names of those who had applied for registration after the enactment of the National Registration Bill.
That list was reportedly sent on August 17, 2011.
“In the letter, Dr. Surujbally explained that the enclosed electronic document contained the names of persons who had applied for registration after the enactment of the amendment. He noted that the procedure to establish which of the persons included in the list were eligible for registration was, at that point in time, still in progress, since the fingerprint cross-matching exercise was currently being conducted and the consequential analyses pertaining thereto had yet to be carried out,” the GECOM statement noted.
