GECOM returns several poll statements for amendments

By Abena Rockcliffe Up until its most recent press conference last evening, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was working assiduously to present an eager nation with the most accurate results possible.

GECOM’s CEO, Keith Lowenfield (L) and Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally

While both of the major political parties declared victory, GECOM reminded the nation that it is the only body legally authorized to do so. Guyana went to the polls on May 11 but, 24 hours after polls closed, the nation still awaited official word from GECOM on how the country voted. In defending the wait, GECOM’s Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally told the media that the Commission, being a responsible agency, has to “verify and justify” every piece of information that will influence the results of election. He said that is why GECOM’s pace in announcing a winner will be much slower than that of “others” as he hinted to the declaration made by political parties. The Chairman begged that citizens absorb that fact and let it form part of their understanding of GECOM’s system of operation. “The law tells us which steps we must take before the CEO is given the green light to make any pronouncement,” he said. GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer  (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, in adding to what his Chairman would have said, gave a scenario of how GECOM’s system could be delayed on account of a mandate to be fully accurate. In this regard, Lowenfield told the media that if he receives a Statement Of Poll (SOP) that accounts for 379 voters, but his arithmetic gives him 380, “I cannot provide that to you (the media/ public) until the numeric one is corrected.” He added that there is a mechanism that provides him, by law, to return an inaccurate SOP to the respective location of origin, so that the slightest correction can be made. “I will not be giving you until that statement is corrected, so our process may not be like others where there are no corrections to be made.” Lowenfield reckoned that GECOM will therefore be moving much slower that other bodies that merely “receive and deliver.” Further, in a bid to reemphasize GECOM’s law-guided policy to protect accuracy, Lowenfield said that he cannot, even in a preliminary way, provide information that may be in some form inaccurate. Lowenfield told the media that he has had cause to return some SOPs to respective districts. While he did not identify or give example of any of the inaccuracies that needed to be amended, the CEO said that SOPs had to be sent back to districts/ regions Six, Five, Three, Four and Ten. Lowenfield explained that returned statements will have to be corrected at the level of the Returning Office (RO), the Deputy Returning Officer (DRO), who will have to make contact with the Presiding Officers (POs), and the respective party agents. That, he said, is a process that must be gone through whenever such situation arises. Up to last night’s press conference, Lowenfield had not received the corrected versions of the inaccurate SOPs which he would have sent out. Nonetheless, the CEO remained optimistic that he would get some substantive information for the media at today’s presser. The process for when a SOP needs to be corrected was flagged by GECOM’s Chairman as one that needs to be reviewed. He said that it can be very time-consuming to go through that process of getting back on to all those persons who would have already been disbursed. “That’s the sort of methodology that leads to confusion; we are going to have to review that.” Dr. Surujbally said that such checks and balances seemed to be needed before, in an age when “GECOM couldn’t be trusted but not any longer.” Further, the chairman called for more support from a nation populated by impatient citizens, some of whom have already formed an opinion about GECOM. Dr. Surujbally said that support should be given based on the fact the GECOM has never smeared its integrity. He cautioned that GECOM will not sacrifice accuracy at the expense of expediency. “The political parties will wait and I hope the nation waits too…let us be a disciplined society,” Surujbally urged. GECOM has been holding several press conferences in an effort to keep the nation up to date with the progress made in moving closer to being able to declare a winner. Up to last evening, Lowenfield had already received SOPs from Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10, but none from 1, 7, and 8. So far, GECOM commissioners who represent the respective political parties were satisfied with the SOPs that they saw and have affixed it with their signatures.