The Electoral Corner…The Voting Process

May 02, 2015 News

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With just about a week to the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections, the Guyana Elections Commission would like to urge all registered electors to vote for the party of your choice on Elections Day. The voting process is a simple one that involves a few easy steps that when followed correctly by the elector ensures that he or she votes correctly.
Please note carefully that before leaving home on Election Day to vote, ensure that you have proper identification.
Check the Official List of Electors (OLE) at the Polling Station to see if your name is on the List.
(a)    Upon arrival at the Polling Station the elector must carefully check the Official List of Electors (OLE) posted at that particular Polling Station, to ensure that his or her name is on the OLE.
(b)    Upon confirmation that his or her name is on the OLE, the elector joins the queue (if there is one) at the entrance of the Polling Station.
Please note, carefully, that if there is more than one Polling Station in the same compound, an Information Poll Clerk, stationed at a convenient location, will give directions to electors to proceed to their respective stations where they are required to vote.
Below are the simple steps an elector whose name is on the OLE must follow upon entering the Polling Station (the room with the Elections Officers).
1.    Upon entering the Polling Station, the elector presents his or her National ID card to the Poll Clerk.
2.    Poll Clerk checks the List of Electors to ensure that the elector’s name appears thereon.
3.    Poll Clerk announces loudly the elector’s serial number and name as they appear on the list.
4.    Poll Clerk places a tick next to the serial number on the list.
5.    Poll Clerk instructs the elector to take his or her National ID card to the Assistant Presiding Officer who makes a comparison to verify the elector’s identity.
6.    Assistant Presiding Officer inspects the elector’s finger for Electoral Ink (stain), and once satisfied, displays the National ID card to Polling Agents.
7.    Assistant Presiding Officer returns the National ID card to the elector.
8.    Assistant Presiding Officer writes the elector’s serial number on the counterfoil (stub) of the ballot paper to be issued – at the top for General and at the bottom for Regional Elections.
9.    Assistant Presiding Officer detaches ballot paper from the counterfoil by tearing along the perforation.
10.    Assistant Presiding Officer stamps the six-digit number (official mark) on the back of the ballot paper – at the top for General and at the bottom for Regional Elections.
11.    Assistant Presiding Officer then displays to the Polling Agents that the ballot paper is correctly stamped (top half and bottom half) with the six-digit stamp (official mark).
12.    Using Form A4 and Form 10, the Assistant Presiding Officer directs the elector in the proper method of marking the ballot paper.
13.    Assistant Presiding Officer shows the elector how the ballot paper should be folded when he or she would have marked their ballot.
14.    Assistant Presiding Officer places a tick to the left of the elector’s serial number to indicate that a ballot was issued.
15.    Assistant Presiding Officer directs elector to the private voting compartment to vote.
16.    The elector then marks his or her ballot in the voting compartment, then proceeds to the Ballot Clerk.
17.    The Ballot Clerk must be satisfied that:
i.    The ballot is the same ballot issued to the elector, by the elector displaying the Official Mark (six-digit number) on both sides of the folded Ballot Paper.
ii.    The ballot is folded correctly by the elector. If the ballot is not folded correctly, the Ballot Clerk shall direct the elector to return to the voting compartment to fold the ballot as directed by the Assistant Presiding Officer.
iii.    The elector has shown the Party Agents that his or her folded ballot paper has the Official Stamp on both the top and bottom halves of the ballot paper.
18.    Having seen the Official Mark on both sides of the folded ballot, the Ballot Clerk directs the elector to immerse his or her right index finger into the container with the electoral ink. The ink must reach beneath the fingernail and cover the first phalanx (segment) of the finger. The elector then drops his or her ballot into the ballot box.
NOTE: Where the elector is suffering from an injury to that finger and it cannot be stained with ink, the Ballot Clerk will require the elector to stain any other finger on a priority basis.
19.    The Ballot Clerk directs the elector to the exit of the Polling Station.
NB: The Electors can further educate themselves about the voting process, by looking at the TV advertisements and the videos on Facebook about the subject.
It is the right of every eligible elector to go out on May 11, 2015 and vote as early as possible. All of GECOM’s Polling Stations throughout the country will be open from 06:00h to 18:00h.

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