– Time fast approaching for President Jagdeo to set elections date
CHAIRMAN of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Dr. Steve Surujbally  has indicated that the Commission, based on its current plans, and barring the emergence of any unforeseeable impediment, will be ready to  hold  national elections in mid-October.
“The time is fast approaching when we will inform President Bharrat Jagdeo that we have reached the state of complete readiness, and that he may set the date for the elections – that being his constitutional responsibility,” Surujbally said.
“According to our current plans, and barring the emergence of any unforeseeable impediment, we would be ready for the holding of the elections in mid-October,” he declared during a news conference yesterday at the Hotel Tower in Georgetown.

Public Awareness

Surujbally said the Commission has developed a strategic Public Awareness Campaign for the entire electoral process for the upcoming elections.  This strategy, he said, involves providing relevant information via all available media, including at grassroots level and through civic/religious/cultural organisations, about the exercise.

Specifically, notices and infomercials (skit and narrative types) delineating election-related information will be produced and published.    Additionally, Surujbally said the strategy includes the production and installation of suitable billboards and banners at strategic locations, the production and distribution of flyers/pamphlets, visits to schools, and through the use of loud hailers at grassroots level.

‘…let us all agree to work conscientiously and cohesively towards the conduct of the upcoming elections in a free, fair and transparent manner and in an atmosphere that is free from fear.  An atmosphere that will allow voters to cast their ballots for the parties of their choice without trepidation towards ensuring that the violence which had been traditionally associated with elections in Guyana, would never again upset our national psyche. None of us should squander this opportunity.’ – Dr. Surujbally

He said, too, that the GECOM website, which is user friendly and is constantly updated, could be accessed for pertinent information about the elections.

“We have activated our hotlines, which are manned by knowledgeable staff, through which pertinent queries could be answered.  These numbers are published in the media,” Surujbally said, adding that the numbers have also been published in the most widely used book in Guyana, the GT&T 2011 Telephone Directory, with nine full pages of comprehensive information about the electoral process.  “This means that the information is in every home which a copy of the directory has reached,” he posited.

ENCOURAGING MEDIA SUPPORT

Surujbally also acknowledged the crucial importance of the media, with its far-reaching influence, in helping to shape the manner in which information is disseminated and absorbed at the local and international levels.

He said GECOM further recognizes that the editorial policies of every media organization could only be determined by that organization.

However, the Commission believes that the editorial policies of every media organization must never depart from the basic principles of journalistic best practices and of course, those principles anchored in the Media Code of Conduct which all media house owners, managers and practitioners have signed.

“Media organizations must always keep in mind that GECOM is the singular constitutional organization that holds responsibility for the most important tile in the mosaic of democracy, i.e. elections, and that any effort to besmirch the image of the Commission could result in disastrous consequences,” Surujbally asserted.

He warned that the “publication of perceptions, rumours, half-truths and total falsehoods about GECOM and its work” can only be seen as attempts to undermine the integrity of GECOM, and this can never serve the national good.

It is in this regard that the Commission invites all media organizations and operatives to revisit the spirit and intent of, and adhere to the Media Codes of Conduct for the 2001/2006 General and Regional Elections and the new and improved Media Code of Conduct developed and signed in 2010, for the Local Government Elections.  By so doing, Surujbally said the media in Guyana would be contributing towards the successful conduct of the upcoming elections.

‘The time is fast approaching when we will inform President Bharrat Jagdeo that we have reached the state of complete readiness, and that he may set the date for the elections – that being his constitutional responsibility.  According to our current plans, and barring the emergence of any unforeseeable impediment, we would be ready for the holding of the elections in mid-October.’  – GECOM Chairman

TRANSPARENCY

He said, too, that scrutineers from the Governing and Combined Opposition Political Parties have been appointed, as required by law, to monitor all aspects of the Commission’s  work associated with and leading up to the preparation of the Official List of Electors, i.e. the Final Voters List for the upcoming elections.

Surujbally said the collective responsibility of the Scrutineers is to monitor the Registration process at various levels, but more specifically at the first level, i.e., at the point of filling out  the Application for Registration Forms, the taking of fingerprints and photographs as part of this process, and the verification of the residency status of the applicants.

“To date, we are satisfied that this is working smoothly as was endorsed by the Parliamentary Political Parties,” he said.

CONSULTATIVE APPROACH
Surujbally also recalled that, at the beginning of this year (2011),  he wrote to the “Leaders” of all of the parliamentary political parties reminding that GECOM was working progressively towards conducting General and Regional Elections as would become constitutionally due by the end of September this year and that “accordingly, we were/are being guided by the (draft) Action Plan which we had developed specifically for this purpose”.

Surujbally said he had assured the parties that, reflecting on the successful manner in which the 2006 elections were conducted, and the peace and calm which followed, and despite the many challenges GECOM faced, “we are resolute in our objective of ensuring that the 2011 General and Regional Elections meet these benchmarks.

“Being cognizant of the value of working in a consultative approach with all of the key stakeholders in the upcoming General and Regional Elections, I took the opportunity to renew our commitment to engage the political parties via a two-way communications process in keeping with the Commission’s policy of inclusiveness,” he told reporters.

With this in mind, Surujbally said he endeared the parties to cooperate with GECOM in a consultative approach throughout every aspect of the preparations for and the conduct of the 2011 General and Regional Elections in compliance with international best practice.

This, he had emphasized, would certainly guarantee that the pre-, peri-, and post elections periods would find Guyana in a state of peace and tranquility as was the case with the 2006 elections.

Surujbally said meetings have since been held with the Alliance For Change (AFC), People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

“We also met with the Justice For All Party (JFAP) and Guyana People’s Partnership (GPP) – these two being non-Parliamentary Political Parties.  Additionally, we have been meeting with other Stakeholders including the International Development Partners (Donors), other organisations within the local Business community (such as) the Private Sector Commission, and the Inter-Religious Organisation,” he added.

The meetings, he said,  provided opportunities for the stakeholders to raise concerns and make suggestions about GECOM’s past and current activities as well as for the overall elections project.

“We were responsive to the concerns and have been accommodative to the suggestions while being guided by the relevant laws and the principles of fairness,” the GECOM Chairman posited.

“We will continue to operate by our open-door policy to work with the political and other key stakeholders in a two-way communication approach towards the conduct of the General and Regional Elections -2011 in a manner that meets international best practice and is commonly acceptable as free, fair and transparent,” assured the GECOM Chairman.

FUNDING
With regard to funding, Surujbally said: “We have been assured by the Chief Elections Officer that enough money has been allocated to GECOM in the 2011 budgetary provisions for the conduct of the General and Regional Elections – 2011.”

INTERNATIONAL/LOCAL OBSERVERS
The government has indicated that it intends to invite Observers from Organisations outside of Guyana, and Surujbally noted that there are also provisions for the accreditation of local observers who would have to operate within the parameters of a relevant Rules of Procedure.

MMU TO RETURN

Surujbally also addressed the re-establishment of the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) and said the Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon was written to and has responded.
Surujbally expressed optimism that the unit will be re-established soon and that its staffers will return to work.
The MMU was working with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and ceased operations in July last year.
Surujbally stressed that the MMU will also support the efficient conduct of the general elections process – a value that cannot be overstated.
The MMU was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Unit was staffed by six individuals, who were employed on a contractual basis with the understanding that the project could cease, dependent on various factors. The role of the unit was to monitor the output of media houses and address any breaches of the Media Code of Conduct. The MMU had revised the Media Code of Conduct and based its operations on the new document.
According to the GECOM Chairman, the success of the 2006 elections process was largely due to the success of the MMU, which ensured that “the media behaved themselves.”
He explained that having a code of conduct developed by the media houses themselves – a type of self- regulation – worked better than having legislations imposed.
In a report by the MMU after the 2006 election, it said, “The first ten days after Nomination were remarkable in some respects for all media houses. In this period, the Media Monitoring Unit failed to find any grievous breach of the Media Code of Conduct in terms of content. In terms of balance there was, in the majority of cases, a most welcome and in some cases almost startling shift towards equitable coverage.”
It added that altogether the performance of the media was creditable and was a vast difference from what obtained in 2001.
The GECOM Chairman also called for the involvement of all stakeholders to support GECOM and the conduct of a free, fair and transparent election process.
As we approach the General and Regional Elections – 2011, I wish to invite the political parties, the business community, the religious community, other sections of Civil Society, the media, and all other key stakeholders including the voters themselves to commit to work with and support GECOM in a comprehensive national effort towards the holding of the upcoming elections in a peaceful manner,” he urged.

“I am convinced, as I hope you are, that such a policy can only result in greater national peace and harmony, as well as economic and social development.  Let us consolidate the gains which we derived from the peaceful manner in which the 2006 elections were conducted,” appealed the GECOM Chairman.

“Accordingly, let us all agree to work conscientiously and cohesively towards the conduct of the upcoming elections in a free, fair and transparent manner and in an atmosphere that is free from fear.  An atmosphere that will allow voters to cast their ballots for the parties of their choice without trepidation towards ensuring that the violence which had been traditionally associated with elections in Guyana, would never again upset our national psyche.”
“None of us should squander this opportunity,” Surujbally declared.