–says GECOM PRO
THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is expected to streamline its voter education programme, now that the funds have been released, according to the Commission’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Vishnu Persaud. Persaud noted that GECOM’s work with voter education began with the launch of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph’s (GT&T) 2011 directory, which contains several pages of information.
“We have been continuing our work,” he said.
The PRO pointed out that on Nomination Day, pamphlets were circulated to all the parties.
“Voter education has been ongoing, but a comprehensive programme was not on stream because of the lack of funds,” he said.
The four main political parties going into the upcoming general and regional elections have raised concerns that not enough has been done in making the general public au fait with the protocols of E-Day.
The incumbent People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) reiterated this concern Tuesday, particularly in view of the fact that the majority of the voter population are young people. Persons below 40 account for some 56 per cent of the electorate, while persons below 25 account for between 21 and 22 per cent.
The Commission’s PRO pointed out that GECOM has not been failing, considering the resources at its disposal, and noted that on Tuesday there were 15 infomercials on 15 different issues that were broadcast twice for the day on nearly every local television station.
Persaud acknowledged that the political parties themselves have been taking voter education to their constituents, adding that it is their right to do so.
Now that GECOM is in possession of the “substantial funds” released from government, additional work will be advanced to ensure that all voters are able to exercise their right to cast their ballots.