The final results of our recently concluded elections have been declared and international observers have unambiguously pronounced that the conduct of the electoral process was satisfactory, which is a plus for our democracy. In this regard, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), political parties and all stakeholders must be commended for once again pulling off a successful election. This augurs well for the consolidation of our young democracy.
It is encouraging too that the diplomatic community has pronounced positively on the conduct and results of the elections, describing them as a reflection of the democratic spirit of the country.
However, GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally made an extremely pertinent observation, which may have gone unnoticed because of the frenzy about the elections results. According to him, we are in an electronic age and as such efforts will be made to move our voting system away from the current manual one to an electronic one.
Surujbally suggested that, in recognition of the fact that we are in the electronic age, efforts will be made to launch a pilot project to develop an electronic voting system, come next year.
He explained, “It has been proven in places like India, that760 million people voted and by evening the results are known; accordingly, I give   a commitment that I will try my utmost to pursue an initiative for a pilot project to carry out an electronic voting system when we embark on the preparation for local government elections next year.”
He urged the relevant stakeholders to support this initiative and reminded that GECOM cannot be subverted, influenced nor bullied.
This is an extremely wise call from Mr. Surujbally, because it appears that the weakest link in our electoral procedures is the amount of time it takes to tally and release electoral results which is compounded by our geographic logistical difficulties. This recently concluded elections is a typical example of the excruciatingly long waiting period the country has to wait for the final, official results of the election.
The long wait creates suspicions, negative speculations and tension after elections and we are all aware of the negative consequences which this can cause. It is hoped, therefore, that Mr. Surujbally’s call will be heeded and all efforts would be made to make electronic voting a reality in Guyana.
Our population is relatively small now, but it is hardly likely that it would remain this way in the near future and therefore we need to ask ourselves that if with such a small population the manual processing of elections results is so tedious and time consuming, what would it be like when our population is larger.
Nevertheless, we need to give ourselves a pat on the back for a well conducted November 28 poll. So Dr Surujbally was correct when he said GECOM is proud to have delivered a near impeccable National and Regional Elections for 2011.
He acknowledged that elections are the “singularly most important tile in the complex mosaic of democracy”, which is enough reason to ensure that the results announced are accurate and that they have been conducted according to the required procedures.
This, he said, is reason enough for the citizens of Guyana to understand the need for an accurate declaration.
He explained, “Some might have been impatient, but ladies and gentlemen, think about the alternative, if we did not pursue the path we did, if we were to make unsubstantiated and incorrect declarations the possible effects could be hideous and too tragic to contemplate.”
Mr. Surujbally is so right because free and fair elections are indispensable to a democratic society.