Stations, staff in place for LGE
– Local Government Elections (LGE) proxy applications window closes Nov. 2
– returning officers currently issuing application forms for proxies and appointments will be issued on Nov. 8
– “All electors will know approximately 10 days prior to the election where they are voting”
– ballot boxes already procured and are being secured by Guyana Police Force
– discipline services’ ranks to vote on Nov. 2
– citizens who applied for identification cards urged to uplift from respective GECOM offices
DPI, Guyana, Monday, October 29, 2018
Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield says the commission is on schedule for the efficient conduct of Local Government Elections (LGE) on November 12 without any chaos or confusion.
Also, the period for application to vote by proxy has opened and will run until November 2, Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO), Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Roxanne Myers announced today.
During a press conference today at the GECOM headquarters in Fort Street Kingston, Myers explained that returning officers are currently issuing application forms for proxies and appointments will be issued on November 8. She added that there are categories for individuals who cannot vote to have a proxy do it in their stead.
“In this case, the voter and proxy must reside in the same constituency and be listed in the same polling station. The application will have an investigation phase, following which the approvals are granted,” Myers explained.
Lowenfield stated that the commission currently has 1,674 polling stations across the country with next day results of Local Government Elections (LGE) anticipated. There is also the possibility of approximately 272 of the polling stations being housed in privately owned buildings.
“I have not received any negatives about those so, we are moving to confirm them. All electors will know approximately 10 days prior to the election where they are voting. That exercise has started. We have also completed training for 10,700 polling day staff and all things being equal they will be employed from November 2,” Lowenfield explained.
As it relates to observers, the CEO pointed out that the commission has advertised for groups wanting to observe the process and have received responses from the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) and some of the embassies.
Further, to date, ballot boxes have already been procured from Canada, they arrived on October 22 and are being secured by the Guyana Police Force (GPF). Since the arrival of the ballots, GECOM has been extracting ballots for the discipline services’ ranks from GPF, Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Prison Services (GPS), to vote on November 2 wherever they reside locally.
“So, we have completed that, we’ve extracted those ballots, we’ve sorted them out by polling stations. We have gazetted and published the locations of the balloting stations across the spectrum. For disciplined services balloting, for the minimisation of movement we will be prepositioning, in some locations the location of these ballots to ensure there is an easy and quick movement on the day,” Lowenfield stated.
Citizens who have applied for identification cards are being urged to uplift them from their respective GECOM offices. Local Government Elections (LGE) is set for November 12.
Ranetta La Fleur.
Images: Ackeem Thomas.