…party checked 85 per cent of PLE so far

GENERAL Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee yesterday said the party is proud of its achievements in checking almost 85 percent of the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) so far, and that it will continue “relentlessly” to ensure that it checks all lists and reaches out to every single Guyanese.

Speaking at the PPP’s weekly press briefing at Freedom House, Rohee said the PPP remains strong in its advocacy for free, fair and transparent elections, and is of the expectation now that the Claims and Objections period has concluded, that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will work towards implementing or reinforcing adequate quality control measures to protect the integrity of the data collected over this period.

Party activists and supporters continue their house-to-house work in checking the PLE and talking to people on the ground. “The PPP is also urging GECOM to make adequate use of the information provided by its activists during the Objections process. It can be expected that GECOM will seek to continue its field visits to the former homes of persons objected to as being deceased by the PPP, and to verify the objections made.

“It is GECOM’s responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the voters’ list and so it must make adequate use of all legitimate avenues to satisfy that objective. The PPP stands ready to accompany GECOM’s officials on all such visits,” Rohee stated.

He reminded that during the Claims and Objections period, the PPP provided evidence to GECOM, which the latter accepted and made a commitment to correct, reflecting persons, registered at the same address but were placed on a voters’ list for different polling units. “The Party is urging GECOM to check the list of each Polling Unit, using lot numbers and addresses, to rectify such inaccuracies and ultimately remove confusion on ‘E’ Day,” said Rohee.

Meanwhile, time and again, the PPP has made calls for GECOM to strengthen its Information Technology Department (IT) with the employment of a competent and qualified manager to supervise the inputting of data into the NRRDB and the extraction of the Revised Voters List and subsequently the Final Voters List.

“The party is concerned that this process can be seriously compromised should GECOM fail to act. In this light, the PPP welcomes the decision by GECOM to embrace the donor community in safeguarding the electoral process, a call which the PPP strongly represented over the years. The Party views the initial steps taken towards soliciting international donors in monitoring the electoral process in Guyana as a positive move, in the right direction, towards achieving free and fair elections,” Rohee said.

According to him, the party has noted the latest development where GECOM has released its intention to employ an IT Manager and considerations towards the establishment of a Media Monitoring Unit (MMU).

“With elections looming, be it Local Government or General, this is certainly an encouraging move to ensure our democracy is protected and Guyanese are afforded their rights as is stated in the Constitution. Further, the setting up of the Joint International Technical Assistance (JITA) to aid the transparency of the entire electoral process is definitely a mechanism the PPP has been lobbying for since the commencement of the Registration process. Again we call for the urgent implementation of this decision in a timely manner and for it to be free from political interference,” remarked Rohee.

He said the party is also concerned over the politically orchestrated daily smear campaigns and character assassinations targeting some of its leaders by certain sections of the media, and is of the hope that the proposed MMU at GECOM will be established soonest and be allowed to function freely.

( By Telesha Ramnarine)