– exercise generally without incident
OUTSIDE of a few minor hiccups at some polling stations in East Berbice/Corentyne, the day was generally peaceful yesterday as Berbicians turn out in their numbers to cast their vote to elect a new government and regional officials.
Heavy showers during the afternoon hours, however, tended to dampen the mood of those still undecided as to whether to cast their ballots or not.
In New Amsterdam, residents were awakened shortly after 04:00hrs to shouts of “Wake up and vote!” as political agents rode through the streets, reminding the citizenry of their civic responsibility.
The older adults were among the first to respond to the call, leaving their homes moments before dawn, and proceeding to their respective polling stations where they voted for the party of their choice.
Because of the many locations at voters’ disposal, long lines were rarely seen, except at the very onset when the stations were officially open for polling.
All along the coastline, residents could be seen going about their business in a peaceful manner, while others appeared eager to cast their ballot. Some were undocumented, whilst others were not too keen on doing so, preferring  instead to ‘take a drink with the boys’.
At Moleson Creek,  Jadesh Jaggernauth and his reputed wife, Shirley Arjune, both of whom were not registered , were unable to cast  their ballots, because of a birth certificate issue.
In Arjune’s case, after applying for the document at the General Register Office (GRO) in the capital, Georgetown, she was reportedly told “no records can be found,” as her parents had failed to register her birth.
Unfortunately, her son Ajai, is also without a birth certificate as his father was at the time of his birth working at Orealla, up the Corentyne River, and his mother had neglected having him registered.  
As such, the teenager was unable to vote, although he badly wanted to experience doing so.
In the case of her husband, Jaggernauth, his birth certificate has an error which he had failed to have corrected, which in turn has prevented him from having an identification card.
Some youths at Number 78 Village were seen sitting idly at the seashore, and when asked whether they had voted, replied: “We don’t see it as important,  as we still have to work for a living.”
Their elders, however, had a different approach as they were observed entering and leaving their respective polling stations, their right index fingers appropriately stained as mandated by law to prove they had already exercised their franchise and to deter them from attempting to vote more than once.
Farther down the coast, reports surfaced that a presiding officer was ordering police ranks to stay 200 yards from the polling station, while in another incident, a Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) employee was relieved of her duties for allegedly being caught distributing pink ballot papers.
The Guyana Chronicle was also reliably informed that some polling day staff assigned to the various polling stations in the region were unable to cast their ballots as their names were not on the list at their posted locations.
Sources, however, set the record straight saying all GECOM staff were registered and  allowed to cast their ballots, with the exception of those persons engaged lately by the respective political parties who were the ones that were encountering some  difficulties.
At the Berbice High School, reports surfaced just after midday that GECOM staff were escorting ballot boxes belonging to the Joint Services without the requisite documentations to do so, resulting in a police rank at the location contacting his superiors at the Central Police Station to apprise them of what was happening, and the consequent deployment of armed ranks to the scene.
Meanwhile, a marked  OAS vehicle was seen travelling along the Corentyne coast,  while Commonwealth Observers were seen leaving the Bohemia polling station.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the GECOM staff were well trained , and that of the 12 stations visited so far, just one needed to make some minor adjustments.
First-time voter and business student, Lisa Cummings, of Tucber, New Amsterdam, was elated to have exercised her right. Brimming with joy, she said: “I am excited; I want to make a change.”  
Then there was Seesankar Puran, a paraplegic, who did not allow his disability to keep him down.
The Tain villager armed himself with his wooden scooter and wheeled  through the pot-holed streets. And when he was seen to be encountering some difficulty, eager villagers lifted him into the polling station, where he sought to verify whether his name was on the list prior to casting his ballot. When done, he proudly lifted his index finger to show that he had indeed accomplished his mission.
And, wheelchair-bound  Somra Phulmoni  said her vote can make a difference despite her being  95 years old. She was taken by her daughter, Sattie, to cast her ballot, and had nothing but praise for the professionalism and efficiency shown by polling staff.
She also commended the authorities for ensuring that there were more than enough polling stations, which helped save time by not having the electorate line up as was the case previously.
Up to the close of poll, there were no reported incidents at the East and West Canje locations, nor on the East Bank of Berbice.