Dear Editor,
“Elections are the base of our democracy and if we do not have truly a fair electoral process and one that can be managed well by a truly independent body, it really is an attack on our democracy and we should all be concerned about that.”- Sheila Fraser
As General and Regional Elec-tions draw near, there is much excite-ment, speculation and apprehension by Guyanese as to the capacity of GECOM to deliver free, fair and transparent Elections .Whilst having a credible Official List of Electors (OLE) is of paramount importance, what transpires on Election Day and the various processes leading to the Final Declaration of Results by the ten Returning Officers, the transmis-sion of Statements of Poll to GECOM, the calculation and award of Regional, Constituency and National Top Up seats are also critical to the advancement of Demo-cracy in our Country.
Our Electoral Laws (Cap:1.03) and the various processes outlined in GECOM’s Training Manual are relatively simple and straight forward, but can be compromised unless extreme vigilance is exercised at all times. This effort is to ensure that there is strict adherence to legal electoral practices and procedures by GECOM’s officials. Below, I have outlined some areas of concern and recommendations for preventative actions.
1. Replacement of polling day staff
GECOM should issue pictorial IDs to all its Polling Day Staff to avoid their replacement by indivi-duals who were not so appointed.
2. Omission of the official mark
It is common knowledge that on E-Day, Ballot Papers which do not bear the Official Mark (a 6-digit number) may be rejected by the Presiding Officer, and as such, not counted for any party on the ballot paper. Therefore the Elector, to which the ballot belongs, is disen-franchised. Editor, this has occurred often in past Elections. It is a clear case of dereliction of duty by those involved and GECOM should impose heavy sanctions against anyone guilty of such callous practices. Let us hope that this practice will be a thing of the past. I am aware that GECOM has been repeatedly emphasizing this point to its Polling Day Staff. For the edification of all electors at the upcoming polls, the following lines should be studied.
Limits of the polling station
This refers to the area of two hundred yards surrounding the Polling Station. It is unlawful to canvass, annoy, molest or interfere with a voter within this radius. Only authorized persons, including legitimate voters, are allowed within this area.
Ballot papers
These are of two types:-
1. Ordinary ballot papers -These are issued to genuine voters who have not already voted.
(a) Spoiled Ballot Paper-A Ballot Paper could be deemed as spoiled if it bears any mark, such as a tear or ink stain, which could identify it with the voter or if the ballot is marked incorrectly through an inadvertent action by the voter. Upon being informed of such, the Presiding Officer should retrieve the Ballot Paper, place it in a special envelope, issue another Ballot Paper and guide the elector to cast their ballot. Notably, Spoiled Ballots are not placed in the Ballot Box and, as such, should not be counted for any List of Candidates.
(b) Valid and Rejected Ballots.
These are determined by the Presiding Officer at time of the count, upon examination of the Ballots cast in the Ballot Box.
(b1) Valid Ballots are counted, separated and awarded for Lists of Candidates, during which tallies are taken, after which Statements of Poll are prepared for General and Regional Elections.
(b2) Rejected Ballots are not counted for any List of Candidates. Ballots may be rejected for various reasons:-
-Absence of the Official Mark. (6-digit stamp)
-Unmarked for any List of Candidates.
-Marked for more than one List of Candidates.
-Marked so the voter can be identified.
(2) Tendered ballot papers
These are similar to the Ordinary Ballots but of a different colour and are only issued by the Presiding Officer to a voter whom he/she is convinced has already voted. Such Ballots are not counted for any List of Candidates. They are only meant to pacify the voter. Only a limited number of such Ballots are issued to the Presiding Officer who should never issue them to legitimate voters.
Persons authorized to be present at the Polling Station.
-Members of the Elections Commission.
-Members of Gecom Secretariat.
-Polling Day Staff.
-Duly appointed Party Agents.
-Candidate to Poll.
-Polling Agents/Counting Agents.
-Observers approved by Gecom.
3. Election observers
The presence of Election Observers has been a most welcome feature over the years. However, their pronouncements on the outcome and quality of the Elec-tions should not be based on mere casual and sporadic visits to selected Polling Stations. It is recommended that they be allowed to monitor and observe every stage of the process up to the Final Declaration of the Results.
4. The statement of poll
It is generally known that the Statement of Poll is prepared in adequate copies by the Presiding Officer, signed by him/her and Polling Agents, to whom one each is issued, one posted outside the Polling Station and the others transmitted thru’ the Deputy Returning Officer to the Returning Officer of the District. This document represents the Official Results for the Polling Station. The information on this document can only be changed subject to any discrepancies/inaccuracy discovered by the Returning Officer or as a result of any request for recounts conducted by him and which vary from the results on the SOP. As such the Presiding Officer must exercise extreme care to ensure that the SOP is prepared correctly and accurately before signing it. The Deputy Returning Officer should not prepare or sign this document under any circumstance.
5. Requests for recount
Requests for recount must be made to the Returning Officer by the relevant party representative prescribed by Law. There can be several types of recounts. These requests must be made not later than noon of the day after the declaration by Returning Officer whose duty and responsibility it is to accept these requests and to conduct these recounts, the outcome of which should be made public. It would be in the interest of contesting parties and Gecom to facilitate this process by preparing a stan-dardized administrative format to accommodate same.
6. Final declaration or results and calculation of regional and parliamentary seats
The final declaration of the Elections Results by Gecom should be consistent with the summation of the final results declared by the ten (10) Returning Officers. The calculation of Regional Seats, Constituency and National Top-Up seats should be done by rigidly adhering to a specified formulae which should be placed in the public domain.
Finally, extreme vigilance should be exercised to ensure that the Statements of Poll that are transmitted to Gecom are indeed the ones which emanated from the Office of the ten (10) Returning Officers.
It should also be noted that, long before Gecom makes its final declaration, most, if not all, of the contesting Parties would have already computed the results since they would have already had the same information as furnished by the Returning Officers to Gecom.
As Guyanese, with deep nationalistic pride, we should, at all times be vigilant and guard against forces with ulterior motives which may seek to create any form of rascality or crisis, in a desperate attempt to force Gecom to abort the Elections on or before the Elections Day.
In conclusion, I wish to urge all Guyanese, especially those directly involved in the administration and conduct of the Election Process to demonstrate transparency, pro-fessionalism, patriotism and integrity in the performance of their duties and responsibilities. I join with my fellow Guyanese brothers and sisters in expectation of a free and fair election and one that is free from fear.
Yours faithfully,
Bishop Juan A. Edghill
