Latest update March 26th, 2026 7:55 AM
GECOM seeks ‘no blackout guarantee’ from GPL for E-Day
…introduces electronic tabulation mechanism
CEO of GECOM, Vishnu Persaud
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is seeking reassurance from Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Company that there will be no power outages during the tabulation of votes on election day, slated for September 1.
This was revealed by the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Vishnu Persaud during an orientation exercise held on Wednesday for international and local elections observers.
The CEO was joined by Chairman of the Commission, Justice(Ret’d) Claudette Singh, Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) Aneal Giddings, Civic and Voter Education Manager, Nardeo Persaud, and Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward.
The CEO explained that that to safeguard the integrity of the tabulation process, GECOM has introduced a new system where the votes will be tabulated and entered into a computer system to be displayed publically on a wide screen.
Persaud noted that the new mechanism is in keeping with the amendments made to the elections laws. He said: “There will be an electronic mechanism that is put in place where each statement of poll will be displayed all and sundry will have a careful look at it. The votes listed there will then be placed on what is known as the district tabulation or the sub district tabulation forms. Agents are allowed the opportunity to challenge and we will not move on to the other one unless everyone there is satisfied…”
Addressing concerns about electricity and power outages, the CEO said that lamps will suffice for the polling stations. He said there is no requirement for the use of any electronic gadget to process statements of polls at the level of the polling station.
“So our lamps will be sufficient to take care of that.”
However, as it relates to the tabulation process, Persaud told the observers he has written to the head of Guyana Power and Light to get some guarantees that electricity will be stable on that day. “I have been in contact with the head of Guyana Power and Light. In fact, I have written him providing him with the location of all of the places where we will be doing tabulation and requesting that as far as is practicable. We should not lose power. That apart we are putting in place to have not one but two standby generators in case one fails at every tabulation location,” he stated.
During the meeting officials of the Commission sought to remind the observers of the general rules as it relates to the conduct of the election. The officials reminded of the various prohibitions that help safeguard the integrity of the voting process.
In a subsequent release, ahead of disciplinary forces casting their ballots on Friday, the commission took the opportunity to remind the general public of the statutory provisions in relation to the annoyance, molestation, interference and obstruction during the electoral process.
Specifically, Section 78 of the Representation of the People Act enacts that, “No person shall anywhere within a distance of two hundred yards of a polling place annoy, molest or otherwise interfere with an elector or attempt to obtain any information as to the list of candidates for whom any elector in the polling place is about to vote or has voted either on his own behalf or as a proxy on behalf of another elector.”
The term “no person” indicates a total prohibition because it creates a broad absolute restriction for everyone, leaving no room for exceptions or specific allowances for certain individuals or groups. Further, Section 78(A) is instructive. It provides that, “any person who, without due authority, obstructs, or otherwise interferes with access to, or egress from a polling place, the voting at an election by any person registered as an elector…shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of sixty-five thousand dollars together with imprisonment for a term of one year …”
Additionally, Section 79(b) of the Representation of the People Act clearly outlines the persons entitled to be at a polling place, polling station, and at a count. It is therefore against this backdrop, GECOM finds it necessary to advise all persons to abide by the legal provisions and avoid committing any of the above stated election offences. The Commission anticipates the orderly and peaceful conduct of the polls and remains confident in delivering free, fair, transparent, and a credible election.
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