Dear Editor,
From my experience as moderator of several recent TV call-in programmes on election matters, I support the urgent call for Gecom (and the political parties) to get their voter education programmes up and running now.
In my view, the priority now for Gecom and other stakeholders is to let each of the 475,000 odd voters know where they have to vote. No voter should be frustrated out of voting because of the perceived or actual difficulty of finding his or her polling station. One of the effective ways Gecom can use to get the word out to voters is through several 2-3 hour live tele-marathons on the major TV stations in all regions where electors can call in to a panel of Gecom officials to get specific information and answers.
Meantime, I wish to use this forum to offer a few information tidbits to help remove some of the misunderstanding, misinformation and ‘un-information’ I have detected.
I have chosen the letter column because I suspect many of us are more likely to read this section of the newspapers than other parts. As such, information from Gecom in more staid sections of the newspapers may not be getting the attention it deserves.
The sources of my information are the 2011 Gecom booklet titled ‘What Every Voter Must Know About Elections And Voting In Guyana,’ and the responses to callers provided by Gecom Commissioner Vincent Alexander on the TV programmes I have moderated. I hasten to add that the final responsibility for the quality of the information herein rests entirely with the letter writer. Here goes:
National ID cards are still being distributed at Gecom offices countrywide, with distribution continuing until two days before election day. Gecom is on record as advising that a registrant can uplift his or her ID without the pink slip. Go get yours! No one will be allowed to vote with the old ID cards.
You can still vote if your new national ID card is lost, misplaced, stolen or uncollected, once your name appears on the list of electors at your polling station. I repeat, once you are on the list, you can get to vote without your new ID. Easier to vote, however, with your ID card once you have it.
Proxy voting is allowed only in a limited set of cases, such as for disabled persons or persons working in critical jobs on election day, such as some T&HD employees. A proxy vote cannot be cast (repeat, cannot) on behalf of persons who may find themselves away from the area where they registered. If such persons have not applied for a transfer, they can vote only at the polling place where their names appear on the voting list.
Friday, November 18 is the last day to apply to Gecom for the right to act as a proxy for a disabled relative or others.
On election day on November 28, voting at polling places commences at 6am and ends at 6pm. Allowances are made for persons to vote after 6pm once they would have joined the line before 6pm. Information to the contrary as regards voting hours (one letter writer in SN last week) is wrong.
Employers are compelled by law to give time-off to their workers for voting.
Your polling place may not be the same as it was in the 2006 election. Bear in mind, also, that a polling place could have several polling stations, each with a different list of electors based on surnames (the alphabet split).
Harass Gecom and your party for help in finding your polling station as early as now.
When you are given your ballot paper to vote, ensure the Gecom election official has stamped the official six digit number at the back of your ballot paper, at the top for your general vote and at the bottom for your regional vote.
Do not let any frustration between now voting day cause you to refuse to cast your vote.
Information is power. Do not ignore the information provided by Gecom in the newspapers, billboards (where its hotline numbers are given, for example) and elsewhere. That said, Gecom must urgently step up its voter information programme.
Yours faithfully,
Sherwood Lowe
