THE ruling party’s General-Secretary, Clement Rohee, yesterday, rubbished claims that People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) activists had any connection to the problem of impostors of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in Region 1 (Barima/ Waini).“I am saying I don’t know anything about that allegation,” he said.
GECOM in a statement on Tuesday said, “The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is in receipt of reports From Region 1 that unauthorized persons, claiming to be employees of GECOM, have been visiting homes with copies of extracts of the current Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) to check, and advise residents, on their (residents’) registration status.
“Our investigations have revealed that the persons engaged in this activity are alleged ‘Community Support Officers’ in Mabaruma and Port Kaituma. The investigations have also revealed that the persons have in their possession a copy of a letter purportedly written by the Regional Executive Officer of the Region, authorizing them to engage in the activity of concern.
“In view of the foregoing, we hereby note emphatically that no GECOM staff is engaged in any such activity in Region 1 or any other region.”
The Commission added that staff members are authorized to embark on mobile exercises to provide opportunities for eligible persons in far-flung communities to conduct transactions relative to the ongoing Claims and Objections exercise.
“All such activities are adequately announced within the respective communities prior to the visits. Further, we take this opportunity to make it abundantly clear that all of GECOM’s employees working in the field wear and are identifiable by certified identification badges at all times during working hours. They are accompanied by duly accredited and adequately identifiable scrutineers representing the parliamentary political parties,” GECOM said.

PNCR CLAIM REJECTED
The Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR) subsequently issued a statement charging that the PPP is using ‘so called’ Community Support Officers (CSO) to do political work in the Region 1.
“These CSO’s, who are paid by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, are masquerading as officers of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and canvassing residents of the region. The PNCR calls attention to the fact that these persons (CSO’s) are members of the Progress Youth Organization (PYO) engaging in illegal campaign activity on behalf of the PPP,” the PNCR said.
Responding to this, Rohee made it clear that these comments are completely false.
“The Party rubbishes statements by the PNCR on the use of Community Support Officers (CSO’s) posing as GECOM staff checking lists in Region 1 on behalf of the Party,” he said.

PLACED IN DANGER
The PPP General-Secretary stated that these “attacks” disguised as “exposes” about persons posing as GECOM operatives have placed PPP activists checking the list on the ground in grave physical danger.
“Their statement placed our activists in danger.We have evidence of that,” he said.
According to him, the Commission failed to tell the public that the political parties are on the ground, with copies of the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE), which GECOM itself provided to the party to undertake verification exercises.
He said, “Now whether all these people are telling the homes where they go to that they are representing GECOM or that they are representing AFC, APNU or PNC or PPP, we can’t know that.
“But when we approach a home, we say that we are from the PPP party, we are here to check to find out if these people, these persons whose names appear on the list, are indeed the persons who live here.Our comrades are instructed to inform people that they are here from the PPP party and those are the instructions.”
The General-Secretary stressed that the PPP’s efforts in conducting verifications of the PLE are legitimate undertakings.
“The Party hopes that these attacks are not intended to obstruct verification of the Preliminary List of Electors, which our activists are conducting countrywide presently,” Rohee concluded.

(By Vanessa Narine)