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GECOM sees UNDP’s offer of IT assistance as more long term – Lowenfield
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is still open to receiving technical assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) who is willing to provide IT experts in the management of elections data.
Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield said that given the timelines, the UNDP assistance could not have been provided for the conduct of the just concluded Local Government Elections (LGE).
GECOM CEO, Keith Lowenfield
“Our own team did an excellent job in the publishing of data,” Lowenfield stated, pointing to the utilization of existing arrangements locally.
“I am aware that our own IT did an excellent job. It is not the first time that we have done that too,” Lowenfield stated.
Chairman of the (GECOM, Justice (ret’d) James Patterson has been accused of delaying the offer from the UNDP of technical assistance for the conduct of elections.
However, Lowenfield stated that the UN’s assistance is more strategic and long term.
“Even if they were here, they were going to be part of the process and nothing in their deliverables would have seen them impacting for 2018,” Lowenfield said.
People’s Progressive Party (PPP) – nominated Commissioner, Bibi Shadick, recently told Kaieteur News that Commissioners on both sides are pushing for a discussion with the UNDP, while stating that Patterson had cancelled a previously planned meeting.
According to Shadick, the UNDP has offered to provide information technology (IT) experts who will provide supervisory and other support for the security of GECOM’s database, the security of stored information and the secured sharing of information between GECOM and the General Register’s Office (GRO).
In May, the government announced that a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) team met with Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, on the request by GECOM for provision of technical assistance in preparation for LGE and the 2020 General Elections.
The UNDP team consisted of Mr. Hassan Sesay, Senior Electoral/Political Affairs Officer; Ms. Fernanda Lopes, Election/Governance Expert; and Mr. Guillermo Kendall, Senior Political Affairs Officer.
The aim of the visit was to discuss with Williams the purpose of the Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) whose functions are to evaluate the current and electoral environment in Guyana, and assess the form of future UN electoral assistance.
The Government indicated that the discussion covered a spectrum of issues that will be dealt with in preparation for the Local Government and the General elections.
Those issues identified were the results tabulation process; developing the necessary software to expedite the process; the biometric instrument used at polling stations; verifications of electoral listings; and to ensure security at the polling stations.
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