GECOM ready to go ‘full throttle’ – Surujbally
THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is ready to move forward “full throttle”, according to its Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally.
Dr. Steve Surujbally, GECOM Chairman
His comments follow yesterday’s announcement of May 11 as the date for General and Regional Elections by President Donald Ramotar.
In an interview via telephone, he said, “Now that we have a date we can go full throttle. Our action plan will kick into operation.”
The Commission has been engaged by President Ramotar, who in yesterday’s address to the nation, said, “Meetings were also held with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to emphasise the need for their readiness for holding free, fair, transparent and efficient elections…I am advised that GECOM would be in a state of readiness for these polls on that date.”
Dr. Surujbally confirmed this, stressing that the Commission has a framework in place to facilitate the conduct of elections.
Within the framework, there are various statutory and administrative requirements, which must be completed and are relevant to the efficient management and conduct of general and regional elections.
The GECOM Chairman explained that GECOM’s civic and voter education programme will be “unleashed” to ensure that every eligible Guyanese is able to cast their vote come Election Day.
“We are also working to enable persons with disabilities to ensure that they are also able to cast their vote,” Dr. Surujbally said.
In the last few months, GECOM has also engaged political parties, as well as several other key stakeholders.
He disclosed too that the logistics of GECOM’s work will have to be “fine-tuned” to ensure that concerns, particularly regarding the time within which the results are announced, are addressed.
“I have every confidence in GECOM’s A-List team under the supervision of the Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield, as well as the Commission itself,” he stressed.
The GECOM Chairman concluded that the current focus of the Commission is to “get it right” as was done in the last few elections.
