By Johann Earle
Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Electoral Observer Mission, Professor Gordon Shirley called the 2011 polls an improvement over past elections and lauded the Guyana Elections Commission’s “significant” preparations ahead of voting, although he pointed out areas of concern such as the slothfulness of results and polling place irregularities.
Shirley spoke yesterday at a press briefing held at the Pegasus Hotel where he gave an assessment of the mission’s work during the elections and in the days leading up to it. The mission fielded 25 observers from 14 countries in nine of the country’s 10 administrative regions and has maintained a 24-hour presence in the GECOM tabulation centre since the close of polls on Election Day. The OAS team visited a total of over 13 percent of the country’s polling stations on Election Day.
But the OAS teams stationed at GECOM’s tabulation centre in Georgetown observed at least two
