APNU urges GECOM to reconsider voting arrangements for Polling and Counting Agents

Nov 28, 2011 News

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Hours before the opening of polls, one of the major parties contesting this year’s elections has expressed concern that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not issued Polling and Counting agents with certificates of Employment that would allow them to vote at the polling stations to which they have been deployed.
Prime Ministerial Candidate for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Dr. Rupert Roopnarine told a hastily arranged press conference last night, that although this has been the practice since 1992, GECOM has informed that they are denying the certificates.
According to Roopnarine, the argument in support of GECOM’s position appears to be that Section Two of the Representation of the People’s Act, Section 29:4, Polling and Counting Agents are not listed as persons who can be issued with the document.

“What we know is that not withstanding this law, Polling agents and Counting Agents have always been issued with Certificates of Employment, and at the present time, the Commission seems to be saying, these Guyanese who are there to watch after the interests of their political parties are to do so at the price of being disenfranchised. We find this completely unsatisfactory,” Roopnarine told the press conference.
Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodhoo explained last night that during a meeting of the Commission on Saturday, it was unanimously agreed that certificates of employment will not be issued to facilitate voting by polling and counting agents at the stations they are deployed to work.
On behalf of his party, the Prime Ministerial Candidate urged GECOM to reconsider the decision not to issue the certificates, since it could have far reaching implications.
Roopnarine pointed out that the same Commission had earlier this year reopened the Claims and Objections period, claiming that they believe that all Guyanese should have the opportunity to be on the list, and they did not want to be disenfranchising any Guyanese voters.
“Yet this decision by the Commission to refuse to issue Certificates of Employment to Polling Agents and Counting Agents is a clear disenfranchisement of Guyanese citizens who are doing their duties by their political parties to look into their interests in the polling stations,” Roopnarine said.
He said his party had commenced the deployment of its agents to the various polling stations in the remote and riverain areas and it would be difficult to get GECOM to issue them with the certificates.
According to Roopnarine, already some of the party’s agents are refusing to go into certain areas and forfeit their right to vote.
However, he was a bit optimistic that an arrangement can be put in place.
“I recall that in 2006, Certificates of Employment were issued at the very last minute, and in fact I believe that it was five o’clock in the morning that Returning Officers were instructed to provide these certificates.”
“We do not accept that this practice, that has in fact gone on since 1992 at every single election, the Election Commission now decides in the 2011 elections to adhere rigidly to the law. I want to point out that the law does not exclude Polling and Counting Agents, it may include them but it does not exclude them. We believe that the Elections Commission is in fact putting itself in some jeopardy by carrying out this act of disenfranchising Guyanese voters.”
According to Roopnarine, APNU has applied for in excess of 300 applications for the documents.
“If other parties are happy with this arrangement, that’s a matter for them. We are not happy with the disenfranchisement of Guyanese voters, and voters in fact who are doing elections duty,” the APNU Prime Ministerial candidate said.
When contacted last night, Alliance for Change Executive Member, Cathy Hughes told Kaieteur News that her party had made arrangements to have their Polling and Counting Agents work near where they have to vote.
“It’s not such a big issue for us. However, when it comes to principles, we believe that they must be able to cast their ballots,” Hughes said.
People’s Progressive Party campaign manager Robert Persaud when contacted said that his party will not be commenting on the issue.
“This is a matter that GECOM has to pronounce on and whatever they pronounce on, we will respect,” Persaud said.
APNU’s Dr. Roopnarine told the press conference that try as he and other executive members might, GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujballi or any other senior official could not be reached by telephone.
“I’ve been trying to find Dr. Surujballi to raise this matter directly because in matters like this we prefer to engage GECOM directly,” he said.
According to Roopnarine, the matter was brought to the party’s attention sometime yesterday.

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