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Ballot papers, SOP forms arrive ahead of Sept. 1 polls
…as parties haggle over composition of Elections Day staff, other issues
PPP Commissioner of GECOM Sase Gunraj
Kaieteur News – The printed ballot papers to be used for the September 1 General and Regional Elections arrived in Guyana yesterday.
This was confirmed by Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Sase Gunraj, during an interview with Kaieteur News on Wednesday. Gunraj disclosed that the ballot papers are currently undergoing processing at GECOM under the scrutiny of political parties and election observers. “They are currently here and are being processed,” he stated.
The timely arrival of the ballots is crucial, especially with just nearly two weeks before Election Day and the early voting by the Joint Services.
Acknowledging that members of the Joint Services are expected to vote on August 22, Gunraj explained that the ballot papers delivered cover voting for both the forces and the general population. He also confirmed that along with the ballots, Statements of Poll (SOP) forms and tally sheets which are the integral components of the elections process, have also arrived. These materials were printed at Canadian Bank Note in Calvary, Canada.
Additionally, opposition-nominated commissioner Vincent Alexander speaking with Kaieteur News, noted that the number of ballot papers printed is typically in excess of the actual voter count. “Each polling station will have probably one or two books in excess of the number of voters at the polling stations,” he explained.
On July 31, Alexander, during a GlobeSpan 24×7 interview with host Nohair Singh, former MP Ravi Dev, and attorney-at-law Timothy Jonas, had stated that the ballots and supporting documents were being printed in Canada, with commissioners present to oversee the process. He reiterated that GECOM was progressing in line with its schedule toward the September 1 election date.
Guyana Elections Commission
Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise between the two main political parties. Opposition Leader and APNU Presidential Candidate Aubrey Norton on Tuesday has accused the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) of attempting to rig the upcoming elections. He further alleged that GECOM has appointed individuals with known PPP affiliations to key polling day positions.
In response, Commissioner Gunraj, representing the PPP/C, dismissed Norton’s claims as “disingenuous.” He explained that all appointments, including returning officers, deputy returning officers, and supernumerary officers, were made transparently and with input from both parliamentary parties.
“Names were all provided to the Chief Scrutineer, the two parliamentary parties, from the PPP and Carol Smith Joseph of the APNU and they had the opportunity to comment on those persons prior to their appointment. Importantly, they had an opportunity to request changes as far as I am aware, some of those changes were requested and changes effective as a consequence of those request,” Gunraj said. “So I believe that it would disingenuous for such a statement to be made especially in light about the extreme facilities that were made available to the stakeholders prior to their appointment.”
While Gunraj did not specify which changes were made, he emphasized that the process was inclusive and transparent, and that the concerns of stakeholders were taken into account before final decisions were made.
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