GECOM will not be any political party’s ‘whipping boy’ – Dr. Surujbally

Feb 15, 2015 News

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As the national electoral body continues to face criticisms from some political quarters, Chairman of the

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr. Steve Surujbally, has stated that the entity will not serve as “the whipping boy” for any political party in the run-up to elections because of that party’s fear of losing the May 11 polls.
A “whipping boy” is the term used for a person who is blamed or punished for the faults or incompetence of others.
The GECOM Chairman was at the time speaking at a one-day interactive/training session the entity held in the auditorium of St. Joseph’s High School. It was intended to educate media operatives on Regional and General elections.
Dr. Surujbally said that it is normal for any political party that is fearful of losing an election to attempt to cast blame on GECOM. He warned against parties doing such since it seeks to create the false image that GECOM is not able to deliver an election that can withstand scrutiny.
The GECOM Head assured members of the media that the entity will do nothing to compromise elections.
Dr. Surujbally said, “The attacks coming to us…tend to make us believe that perhaps they can’t make it so (they say) let’s start blaming GECOM.”
The GECOM Chairman said that at this point it is important to ensure that the elections are conducted in a manner that is free of social disturbances and scandals.
Dr. Surujbally’s statement comes even as the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) continues to raise concerns about the work of the electoral body and its ability to deliver free, fair and transparent elections in the next three months.
While both the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National

Unity (APNU) have said that they are confident in GECOM’s ability to deliver credible elections, the PPP had launched weekly attacks on the entity.
At first, the party sought to extensively criticize the Commission’s choice of Richard Francois as Public Relations Officer; even calling for him to be removed.
Just last week, Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, asserted that his Party is also concerned about the reduced number of registration centres within large communities even though there is an overall increase in registration centres countrywide.
Rohee, who is also General Secretary of the PPP, chided the Commission, stating that the placement of offices for Claims and Objections reflects a “bias and lack of objectivity.”
He then called on GECOM to also ensure persons recruited to work on Election Day are selected through a transparent process so as to gain the nation’s acceptance of the results. Rohee also renewed his party’s call for public vetting of all polling day staff.
Surujbally told members of the media, yesterday, that GECOM will do nothing to compromise an election. He said for the upcoming election, some 12000 people will be employed; surpassing the amount of persons employed by any other entity in Guyana.
He assured that the Commission has a process of employment which ensures that staffers are 100% screened. The staffers, he said, will be informed that they cannot be compromised and must put partisan politics aside for loyalty to GECOM.
He urged reporters to also fulfill this mandate and be fair and accurate in their reporting.
“We want an election that is peaceful, we want an election that is not scandalous,” Dr. Surujbally stressed, while urging that journalists be more responsible in their coverage of Guyana’s elections.
He said, too, that an “election is the single most important tile in the mosaic of democracy,” hence it is important to note that GECOM’s team will do nothing to negatively affect the conduct of elections.”
Also speaking at the session was Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield who informed that GECOM has already commenced preparation for the May 11 polls. He told members of the media that the entity is currently conducting the Claims and Objections exercise.
He explained that the Claims and Objections period is the “Step One” in the Commission’s work plan for the conduct of the upcoming May 11 General and Regional Elections. This period will allow eligible electors who meet the specific requirements to gain entry onto the Preliminary List of Electors, (PLE) securing them their voting rights.
This period also provides a window of opportunity to persons already registered and who are desirous of having changes and/or have corrections made to their registration information currently entered on the Preliminary Voters’ List.
Electors already registered can request a transfer if they have moved from one sub division to another, or from one registration area to another. Lowenfield noted that this period, which started last Monday (February 9), has seen “quite an amount of transfers by electors.”
During the one-day exercise, the GECOM team took time to walk media operatives through the electoral process. About 30 reporters were given an insight on the staff roles and responsibilities to even the declaration of results, among other things.
GECOM is the entity that is responsible for the administration and conduct of elections in Guyana.
GECOM is headed by a Chairman and six Commissioners and is supported by core staff in its Secretariat. The work of the Commission is supplemented in its elections preparation and administration by thousands of temporary staff.
GECOM is an autonomous body.

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