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GEORGETOWN, Guyana, March 27, 2020 (CMC) – The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) said, yesterday, there is no law that caters for party agents to guard ballot boxes, once they are in the custody of the Commission.
The main opposition People’s Progressive Party-Civic (PPP-C) has been encouraging persons, calling themselves “Guardians of Democracy”, to practice social-distancin, as they stage nightly vigils outside the GECOM offices, where the containers, with the ballot boxes, are held.
The PPP-C said it was also encouraging persons, who want to be part of the ballot box watch, to register at its headquarters, as it prepares a schedule for the nightly vigilance.
Guyana is still awaiting the outcome of the March 2 regional and general elections and, on Wednesday, GECOM said it was awaiting the outcome of the various Court challenges, before making an official announcement of the results.
In its latest statement, GECOM said that it has become aware of messages, being circulated on social media, with a claim that GECOM “is now restricting parties from moving around container, to ensure that they are safe and have not been compromised”.
GECOM noted that the existing legislation, in relation to ballot boxes, ballot papers and other election material, “the property in them, may be stated to be in the care of the Chief Elections Officer”.
“The law does not contemplate party agents as a key stakeholder in the security of ballot boxes, once they have been deposited in the custody of the Commission,” the statement pointed out.
GECOM said, that while there is no legal provision for party agents “to act as security for election materials” in the present circumstances, the Chair, retired justice Claudette Singh, on March 15, made a decision that “one agent per political party be accommodated in GECOM’s compound, for the sole purpose of watching containers with general and regional election 2020 ballot boxes”.
GECOM said that predating the elections, there is an administrative arrangement for all parties to place padlocks on all the containers with ballot boxes. But it said only the two major political parties – the ruling coalition A Partnership for National Unity plus the Alliance for Change (APNU-AFC) and the PPP-C have placed chains and padlocks on each container, in the custody of the Commission.
The Commission also noted that it realised that the safety and security of its staff and the compound were being compromised by the presence of party agents.
“Therefore, as of 25 March 2020, political parties were asked to desist from photographing and taking videos of staff members and GECOM’s routine operations,” GECOM said, calling on party agents to observe the agency’s security protocol and desist from peddling misinformation.
This is so much crap. If the ruling party and the main opposition party agreed to place their own chains and or locks on the ballot boxes, while they are in the custody of the Commission, and all the other parties were given the same opportunity but did not, do the same, why the heck is there still a necessity to have party agents parked on the premises, while they photograph and video tape the staff of GECOM?
All the staff should object to being videotaped and should advise the Chief Justice that they are afraid for their lives. They should also send a request to the US State Department asking for the US protection.
President Granger should deploy the GDF to keep guard at the GECOM building and the police arrest any party agent, who insists on videotaping and photographing the staff.