I will not override anyone’s right to vote’ – President Ali

—GECOM must be fixed before LGEs

His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali says that he will not deny anyone’s right to vote.

However, he said, before the next Local Government Elections are held, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) must be fixed.

President Ali was at the time responding to questions from the media at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday.

“I will not override anyone’s right to vote […] I am not getting into Local Government Elections now. What we have to do is to fix what is there first and we have to ensure that we have a system that is working, and a system that people trust, and a system that is professional, and a system that operates in an unbiased manner so that the people of our country can have confidence,” President Ali said.

The President said stakeholders have expressed their concerns about enduring another lengthy electoral process.

“That is the general consensus of the population and that is the utmost importance in the minds of our people and that is what we have to address,” he said.

The Head of State had committed to launch an international Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to probe the weaknesses of the elections body, following the protracted elections process after the March 2 General and Regional Elections. The CoI is expected to help in identifying issues, challenges, weakness and opportunities to ensure that the scenario is never repeated.

President Ali indicated that while no one has been named for the CoI, he would like it to be convened soon. However, the restrictions brought on by the pandemic have hampered this process, although the Head of State continues to speak with international organisations on the matter.