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PPP chides GECOM Chairman

Sep 27, 2015 News

… for ‘dangerous’ statements on fake Statements of Polls

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) recently expressed its dismay with comments reportedly made by Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr. Steve Surujbally.
The party contended that Dr. Surujbally said that it would be impossible to prove who took false Statements of Poll into the Commission and as such, couldn’t see the need for an investigation.
The opposition party said that this statement is a reflection of GECOM’s gross incompetence and an indictment of the organization’s inability to conduct free and fair elections unless there are reforms of its machinery.
It asserted that the statement is also a confession of the extent to which GECOM’s security procedures and quality control measures have been compromised.
The Opposition emphasized that such remarks from Surujbally confirms grave suspicions of many about his biased judgment.
The Opposition said that while it is not sure whether the said statement is a conclusion drawn by the entire GECOM or Mr. Surujbally personally, it is an extremely serious and dangerous development.”
It called on the entity’s Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield, to respond to this development.
“The PPP is convinced that had the Party been returned to office following the May elections and with such an allegation hanging over the Commission, the APNU+AFC in opposition would have refused to accept the results, claimed the elections were rigged, probably burnt the city down and demanded another forensic audit.”
It continued, “Mr. Surujbally must wake up and smell the flavour of the day, that is, the countless number of investigations, audits, probes, commission of inquiries now taking place in the country that smells of corruption or malpractice according to the suspicions of the APNU+AFC coalition government.”
The Party said that the newly constituted GECOM must not allow Mr. Surujbally to get away with his “shenanigans.”
The Opposition stressed that the Commission must demand that the police be called in to carry out a thorough investigation into this “elections crime” in the same way the Office of the President has launched investigations and set up its Asset Recovery Unit to go after every perceived wrong-doer and in the same way that the Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, is going after rogue cops in the Guyana Police Force.
It added, “If Mr. Surujablly does not value the vote by each elector then this is most unfortunate and reaffirms the loss of confidence the PPP has publicly expressed in him as Head of GECOM.”
The Party reiterated that if there are persons in GECOM’s employ who sought to corrupt the system with the fake ‘SOPs’ with the intention of generating incorrect results to thwart the will of the electorate, then this confirms the long held view of the PPP that there is an urgent need for an overhaul of the Commission’s machinery in the not too distant future.

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