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Opposition proposes random placement of polling day staff …to ensure quality control for electoral process
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, met with the full commission of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at the last statutory meeting, and engaged them in several discussions.
GECOM’s Kingston Headquarters
During a press conference yesterday at his Church Street office, the Opposition Leader said that he proposed to the Commission that it implement a system of random placement for polling day officials to ensure quality control for the electoral process.
“So nobody knows where they’re going, everybody is trained and then you have a system for random placement of polling day officials. So you can’t have a pattern of behaviour.”
Jagdeo said that he raised this issue to ensure that the General and Regional Elections are credible.
He added that the recruitment process for polling day staff has to be transparent, saying that he is distrustful of the Secretariat.
Also pursuant to the holding of credible elections, he proposed having an international presence here on Election day.
“I said to the commission, when I met with them, that we must seek immediately, to have an international presence for quality control… because we need another pair of eyes.”
He said that the President should also have a vested interest in, and advocate for, international presence.
“President Granger, if he’s concerned about credible elections, how come he’s not making the case that we can get a lot of international help?” Jagdeo asked.
He said that the presence of international actors would safeguard the integrity of several aspects of the system, including the integrity of the voters’ list and the tabulation process. It is also necessary, Jagdeo added, to have those actors develop an independent report on quality control to present to the commission and the various political parties.
Many organisations, such as the Organisation of American States (OAS), the United Nations, the Commonwealth, as well as several bilateral donors, would be willing to assist the Commission in assuring credible elections, Jagdeo said, because they have told him so.
He added that it is disappointing that Government had not heeded the advice of the UN when it sent a Needs Assessment Mission last year, which found that there was no need for a new voters’ list.
Nevertheless, the Opposition Leader said he is positive that the offer by those bodies of their assistance is still on the table.
“All of these things, we raised with the commission to ensure credible elections.” Jagdeo said.
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