Guyana Elections Commission Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally was unanimously elected Chairman of the Association of Caribbean Electoral Organisations (ACEO) last week just before the organization concluded its 6th Annual General Meeting at the Princess Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
A press release from GECOM Public Relations Officer Vishnu Persaud stated that essentially this empowers Dr. Surujbally with the authority to spearhead and coordinate strategic policy development and implementation towards improved electoral management within and among the member states of the ACEO until the conduct of its 7th Annual General Meeting which is scheduled for Suriname in 2013.
Dr. Norbert Masson, Chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission of Trinidad and Tobago, and outgoing Chairman of the ACEO, led the delegates who were present and participated at the election of Dr. Surujbally in congratulating him on attaining the prestigious office.
They wished him every success in carrying out the relevant responsibilities during his tenure as Chairman of the ACEO.
Surujbally gave the assurance that he would pursue his responsibilities with the due diligence required of the office while focusing specifically on achieving the strategic goals identified at the just-concluded 6th Annual General Meeting. These goals include pursuing quality management and quality assurance through ISO certification for Electoral Management Bodies; establishing a Tertiary Level Electoral Management Training Programme in the Caribbean; establishing a knowledge forum and on-line repository of information through the ACEO’s website; promoting mutual cooperation between ACEO member states; establishing favourable relationships with the media, media monitoring and creating guidelines for reporting on elections. Other goals include promoting the ACEO as a leading and internationally recognized body of Electoral Organisations; promoting the image of the ACEO; condemning attacks on any member of the ACEO by politicians in the strongest possible terms; dealing with campaign financing; sharing successful experiences and learning from each other’s mistakes; sharing experiences in media monitoring and implementation of a self-regulatory Media Code of Conduct, and looking into the possibility of using geographic information systems to establish boundaries for constituencies.
