–Surujbally
   The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is no godfather and evidence indicating serious violations of the political parties Code of Conduct should be taken to the police, according to the Chairman of the Elections Commission, Dr. Steve Surujbally.
   “One should not be using GECOM, at least now, as some sort of godfather, and you come whining to GECOM for every little transgression,” Surujbally said, “Once you have the evidence, go to the police. That is my statement on that.”
   He was speaking at a press briefing yesterday at the commission’s boardroom, where he declined to comment further.
   The most recent violation of the Code occurred on Wednesday evening when a People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) public meeting was disrupted and several persons harassed and assaulted by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) supporters.
   APNU has charged that the incident is surrounded by misinformation, adding that the citizens who are protesting across the country are normal residents who are fed up with the neglect meted out to them by the incumbent PPP/C Administration.
   The PPP/C, acknowledging that the political parties Code of Conduct is not a legally binding document, has since called for GECOM to condemn the act, at minimum.
   The GECOM Chairman noted that even with this, parties themselves will come out without fail with strong statements to both condemn and disassociate themselves from such actions by their supporters.
   “The political parties almost surely will come out with a statement, not only disassociating themselves but decrying what we are seeing evolving,” he said.
   The Code of Conduct for the political parties is self-regulatory, and as such, no legal redress can be pursued, other than having those directly responsible dealt with by the law.
   As such, GECOM has no power under the code to implement punitive measures and no legal  recourse can be pursued, other than having those directly responsible for a wrong dealt with by the law.
   The political parties signing of the Code of Conduct is expected to foster an atmosphere of free, fair and civil elections. Having signed the document, the political parties contesting office would open themselves to public criticism if they disregard the standards which they subscribed to.