Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally says work is ongoing to develop plans for national registration and local government elections.

According to a statement from the commission, Dr Surujbally also told the newly-appointed UN Resident Representative Aboubacry Tall that GECOM’s preparation of a comprehensive plan for the administering of local government polls was restricted because the work of the Joint Task Force for Local Government Reform was yet to be completed. Dr Surujbally however added that relevant support from the UNDP would be required for the efficient implementation of various tasks. He expressed confidence that under Tall’s stewardship, the UNDP would continue to be supportive of the work of GECOM and its secretariat. Tall paid a courtesy call on Dr Surujbally on Tuesday.

During this initial meeting, discussions were focused on collaboration between the UNDP and GECOM towards improving the capacity of the commission and its secretariat for efficiency in the conduct of national registration and the administering of general and local elections.

Tall, who was accompanied by Carla Khammar, UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative, received a verbal brief on the work of GECOM. He expressed optimism at working with GECOM, in his capacity as head of the UNDP in Guyana, and with all of the other stakeholders.

Pointing out that he was looking forward to facing the new challenges in his assignment, Tall assured Surujbally that he was committed to building upon the good work of his predecessors in assisting GECOM to carry out its mandate.

Surujbally used the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Youssef Mahmoud, former UNDP Resident Representative, and Khammar, for their collective and respective contributions to the success of the 2006 general elections.