The public deserves an answer on fake statements of poll

Dear Editor,

I am finding it extremely difficult to read what is in some sections of the press about the Fake statement of poll (SoP).

Let me make it crystal clear that on the evening of Wednesday, May 15, 2015, it was reported to us that the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission Mr Keith Lowenfield reported to the Commission members that he would be unable to announce the 2015 National and Regional Election results because there were false statements of poll in the system. It was further reported that he said that there were too many false statements of poll for him to accept. That evening a decision was taken that on Thursday, May 14, the Commissioners will have a thorough discussion on the false statements of poll.

Dr Surujbally must stop talking hogwash and explain to the Guyanese people what took place on Thursday, May 14, in respect of the false statements of poll. Further, the elections results were by law supposed to be verified by information technology tabulation and the corresponding manual tabulation. However, none of this was done but the 2015 National and Regional Elections results were declared.

More serious is the explanation that we are now hearing that the fake SOPs were not tabulated as part of the preliminary and final results. Guyanese must now demand that Gecom tell us how many fake SOPs were discovered. This information must be brought out so that we could know the specific areas and the presiding officers that were involved in the rigging of the 2015 elections.

The outgoing Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission must answer to the Guyanese population as to why there were no investigations to ascertain how the fake statements of poll got into the system and who was responsible.

Investigations and inquiries are held willy-nilly in this country for some frivolous reasons and on the grounds of suspicion only, but a serious matter of fake statements of poll in the Gecom system which supposedly changed the results of the 2015 elections in favour of the APNU+AFC, does not merit an investigation, according to the former Chairman Surujbally.

The public deserves an answer, but until then both the former Chairman and the Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission should be held responsible for negating to investigate the fake statements of poll.

Yours faithfully,

Neil Kumar