– maintains polling agents not entitled to privileges being asked for
THE opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has joined the Alliance For Change in voicing its concerns about polling agents not being issued Certificates of Employment so as to allow them to vote where they were deployed.
But GECOM Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally, is thoroughly opposed to the idea, saying it’s against the law.
“We will not deviate from the law,” he told reporters at a press briefing yesterday. And he meant every word he said.
“We are not going to break the law,” he stressed. “The Representation of the People’s Act states clearly that specific persons are allowed to vote at their place of poll, which is where they are working and not where they are registered, and those are GECOM polling day staff.”
Earlier in the day,the AFC’s presidential candidate, Khemraj Ramjattan had voiced the same concerns as APNU and was the first to call for some measure of discretion to be exercised.
Asked what he thought of Ramjattan’s suggestion, President Bharrat Jagdeo said there was nothing to consider as GECOM was doing the right thing; that it was sticking to the law, and that as far as he knew,  the Commission’s not giving in to AFC and APNU’s request will not disenfranchise anyone.
“It is a GECOM decision, and they felt that this is the law, so they are sticking with the law,” he said, adding that the ruling not only applies to APNU and AFC but the PPP/C as well, as they each have agents at all the polling stations.
According to Section Two of the Representation of the People’s Act, Section 29:4, Polling and Counting Agents are not listed as persons who can be issued with the document (Certificates of Employment).
Surujbally said the list of persons allowed to vote at the place they have been deployed include the Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers, Returning Officers and Deputy Returning Officers among a few other officials.
He conceded that while it was illogical not to have polling and counting agents vote at their designated stations, he was not prepared to break the law. 
“The Chief Elections Officer made it quite clear that irrespective of what we might think is logical, he was not prepared to steer away from the straight and narrow path and break the law. And that is the position,” Surujbally declared.
He noted that at any one place, there will be at least seven or eight officials, so there can be no collusion to be feared by polling agents who need to leave to cast their vote in the areas they were registered.
“The distrust might be there,” he said, “[but] it is not possible for collusion to take place,” he said.
Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Gocool Boodhoo on Sunday evening told the media that during a meeting of the Commission on Saturday, it was unanimously agreed that certificates of employment will not be issued to facilitate voting by polling and counting agents at the stations they are deployed to work.