A TEAM from the Commonwealth is currently in Guyana undertaking a needs assessment, ahead of the May 11 General and Regional Elections.This is according to Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr. Steve Surujbally, who told the Chronicle that the Commonwealth team, led by Ms. Clara Cole, met with the Commission on Tuesday.

“The Commonwealth team has met with the Commission to address the state of readiness and preparations,” he said, adding that their findings could possibly assist in the determination of the size of their elections observer mission.
The needs assessment mission of the Commonwealth team follows a similar undertaking by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon, at his weekly post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, disclosed that the Organisation of American States (OAS) is also expected to field a needs assessment mission to Guyana soon.
Dr. Surujbally told this newspaper that GECOM has not yet heard from the OAS.
Invitations have also been sent to the Governments of South Africa and India, as well as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Carter Centre to field observer missions to Guyana for an extended period, starting from as early as April 7, Nomination Day.
According to Dr. Luncheon, there has not been a response from the foreign observers to date.
However, he expressed confidence that the OAS, the Commonwealth, UNASUR, Carter Centre and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are expected to have a presence in Guyana.
Notifications were made to the international community and bodies that traditionally field observer missions to Guyana when the date for the upcoming General and Regional Elections was announced. Invitations were subsequently dispatched.
LOCAL OBSERVERS
Locally, the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has approached GECOM for accreditation as a local election observer. The Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) is also expected to revamp its operations and act as another local observer.
All observers, local and foreign, will be required to sign onto certain protocols before they are accredited as observers.
Relative to foreign observers, the missions will be expected to adhere to more than 35 guidelines, according to the protocol seen by the Guyana Chronicle. In addition to the guidelines, the rights and privileges of accredited election observer groups were also outlined in the protocol.
Similar rights and guidelines apply to local observer groups, which were detailed in a separate document.
Also under the Election Law (Amendment), Act No. 15 of 2000, Section 20 states that: “The Commission may approve of local organisations observing the democratic process involved in any election provided such organisations fulfill such conditions as may be stipulated by the Commission.”
Both protocols, for foreign and local observer groups, stated clearly that if GECOM considers that an observer group “willfully, without restraint, overtly and/or with malice aforethought breached the modus operandi and protocols” outlined by the Commission, GECOM has the authority to and may rescind/withdraw its accreditation from the individual errant observer or even from the entire Observer Mission. (Vanessa Narine)