Every effort must be made to produce a credible election

Feb 29, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

People are on edge over Monday’s election — whether it would be relatively peaceful and free and fair, and what would be the outcome. Voting is sacrosanct, a constitutional, democratic right. There must be peace and order. There must be no fraud and skullduggery. Regardless of which party wins a free and fair election, the electoral verdict must be respected.
But Guyana has had a history of disputed elections. Elections are dangerous and imperfect. The people are asking that the sanctity of the right to vote be respected and the ballot counted, and for a peaceful environment. This request, the law, must be enforced by officials working for GECOM at the headquarters and various voting places, and ensured by the international (and local) observers and diplomats. The right to vote must also be forcefully defended by Guyanese, as the vote determines which party will govern them.
Regrettably, every election is a nail-biting event as people watch elections in Guyana with dread. As in the past, now there are legitimate fears of electoral fraud.
When it comes to manipulation of the vote — whether through intimidation, bribery, or outright rigging — Guyanese implicitly understand that it is a question of “how much”. There were charges of attempts at voter suppression (tampering with voting places and removal of names from the voters’ list). Some charge that names of non-Guyanese have been added onto the voters’ list. No evidence has been offered.
Many people say that there are signs that something weird is going on relating to the voters’ list and polling places. It is noted that the dead and tens of thousands who migrated are still on the register. There would be some 200K extra unused ballots for those not voting; there is a fear that these could be abused – ballot box stuffing and 100% voter turnout in some locations. Will there be lower percentage turnout (662K names; 71% turnout last time)? This writer believes it will be much higher.
According to Guyana’s electoral laws, representatives (agents) from all political parties are permitted to witness the voting and the counting of ballots in polling stations. They are authorised to stay and sign the statement of poll (SOP) certifying the count. They receive a carbon copy. The SOP is to be sent to the electoral commission and posted on the door and online immediately, so they could be double checked by all parties and the public for transparency and to prevent fraud. That system broke down at several polling stations in 2011 and 2015.
Observers who witnessed election fraud in other countries told me that some methods of fraud include removing a few names of a party’s supporters from the voters’ list in every polling station (four or five ballots in every one of 2300 stations adds up to some 10K); making small changes to large numbers of tallies to alter results; impersonating other voters; and other ways.
A foreign observer should be placed at these sensitive polling places to prevent a recurrence of problems and to guarantee a fair election. Results should not be announced until all the ballots have been counted, input into the computer, and certified.
Every effort must be made to produce a credible election, in the words of President Granger. The Guyanese nation can’t ask for more. GECOM, the President, and police must ensure a peaceful election to calm anxiety.

Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram (Political Analyst)

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