… but recommends enhancement of timely procedures for the post-election process
THE Organisation of American States (OAS) Observer Mission has lauded the preparatory work of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for the 2011 General and Regional Elections, which generated a generally inclusive and clean electoral process. The Chief of Mission, Professor Gordon Shirley, made this announcement at a media briefing yesterday, when he reported on the findings of the OAS mission, from pre-electoral period to the tabulation of results.
According to Professor Shirley, for the pre-electoral period, the mission particularly recognised the implementation of the 2008 house-to-house registration of electors and its resulting enhancement of the credibility of the list of electors and electoral process as a whole.
This, he noted, is an improvement over past elections, and is a significant step in the electoral process.
Another positive aspect of the campaign period, he added, was the adoption by all parties of the Code of Conduct for both political parties and media.
He mentioned too, the role of the Media Monitoring Unit in ensuring that stakeholders adhere to certain guiding principles and commitments, which he said, is considered by the OAS mission to be a valuable tool for transparency and independent analysis.

Election Day Process
As to the procedures during Election Day, Professor Shirley reported that while the mission noted significant voter turnout early in the day, along with the nearly complete presence of party agents from the AFC, APNU, and PPP/C at the observed stations, there were isolated cases of tensions that arose during the day and after the close of polls in Georgetown, which were quickly addressed by GECOM officials and security forces.
“In this regard, the significant efforts to prepare for the conduct of the activities within the polling stations are to be commended,” he said.
Alluding to additional observations, he said, “The OAS also observed a few issues that may have caused some voter confusion on the day of the election. The proportion of polling stations that were changed between the November 8th, 2011 published Official List of Polling Stations and the list provided to the OAS electoral observation mission dated November 25th, was high. These discrepancies came to a national average of over 5% of polling stations, and were particularly elevated for stations located in Regions 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10. In at least three of these polling stations, OAS observers noted that, on the day prior to the polls, no written notice advising of the new polling location was in evidence.”
In addition, the mission also observed cases of voters being unable to find their names on the lists at the polling centres, as well as long lines and some voter confusion regarding information on where to cast their vote.

Delay in Results
Continuing, Professor Shirley announced that the mission considered it “unfortunate” that the smooth functioning of the process seen throughout the day was replaced by “inefficient procedures” and a lack of coordination in the processing and release of preliminary and final results.
He said, “At 6 AM on November 29th, a significant discrepancy between the number of statements of poll received by the Returning Officer for Region 4 and those processed at GECOM’s headquarters was observed.”
Further, The OAS teams stationed at GECOM’s tabulation centre in Georgetown observed at least two envelopes containing statements of poll being delivered by an unaccredited and unescorted individual, Shirley said.
He noted too that as of 3p.m. on November 30th, GECOM had not yet released the completed preliminary or final results from the election, and pointed out that the delays can only “undermine” confidence in the electoral process and fuel speculation by interveners who may wish to take advantage of the situation.
“It is unfortunate that, following a generally well administered election up to and including polling day, the failure to ensure the timely dissemination of results may undermine the good work done thus far. I call upon GECOM to work diligently to issue the results quickly and to address the operational procedures that led to the delay so that this matter can be avoided in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, Professor Shirley also took the opportunity to recommend a preliminary set of measures; the mission recommends working on, in order to reduce the potential for manipulation.

Recommendations
Among the recommendations that the OAS / EOM will present in its final report are several areas for improvement to future electoral processes.
These include the enhancement of timely procedures for the electoral process by
1.  relocation of polling stations, communications regarding changes in procedures and policies from previous elections, transmission of preliminary and final results, standardisation of the electoral calendar with specific deadlines and milestones

2.   Ensuring the chain of custody of electoral results.
* The mission recommends that additional mechanisms to ensure the security of electoral results be implemented throughout the course of the transfer of electoral materials between the regional offices and GECOM’s central tabulation centre. These mechanisms should include the confirmation of accredited, escorted and previously identified individuals.

3.  Improved communications with stakeholders.
In order to ensure transparency and instill additional confidence in the process, the OAS mission recommends strengthening the following parts of GECOM’s communications processes:
*Preparing in advance and standardising clear communications and explanations of technical electoral issues for the public, particularly regarding the tabulation of results.
*The timely provision of voter information regarding the location of their polling stations, and consideration of including laptop computers at the voter information tables to orient voters to their respective polling places.
*Expansion of the service provided in the hotline centre to attend the number of queries regarding the process and where to vote.
*Review of GECOM’s internal communications structure regarding the resolution of potential incidents and ensuring a rapid transmission of preliminary results between the field and tabulation center.
*Enhancing protocols for regular communications with political parties and media throughout all phases of the electoral process.

4.  Strengthening the promotion of gender balanced participation throughout the electoral process.
Shirley explained that given that only one of the four major political parties fielded a woman at the top of its ticket for this election, and that party leaders have complete discretion in deciding which candidates from the list actually gain seats in the assembly, the mission recommends further mechanisms to ensure the continued participation of women in the political arena.

“Considering the predominance of women as poll workers and party agents, the mission recommends instituting gender balance throughout the electoral and political hierarchy to ensure equitable representation of both genders at all levels. It is vital that the government and GECOM promote training programmes for female candidates, support awareness on women’s issues, and seek to support legislation to proactively promote gender equality in all spheres of life in Guyana,” he said.

The OAS representative explained that the mission will continue to observe the tabulation process throughout the rest of the week. A verbal report on the observations and recommendations of the OAS/ EOM will be presented by the Chief of Mission to the OAS Permanent Council in Washington D.C. in January of 2012.
In closing, he said, “The OAS mission wishes to express its thanks to the Government of Guyana and GECOM for the invitation to observe this process, and the facilitation of information across the board during the mission’s stay in the country. In addition, the mission thanks the governments of Argentina, Chile, Serbia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, along with Elections Canada for their contributions which made this mission possible.”