THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Saturday indulged in a one-day interactive session with members of the media at the St. Joseph High School, in an effort to enlighten them on various aspects of General and Regional Elections.

Opening the session, GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally declared the exercise of great importance in educating the media on the various procedures and on other important aspects during the elections period.

Dr. Surujbally said the exercise was being carried out so that members of the media can have a better understanding of elections, and thereby report correctly on issues pertaining to elections. This, he said, is “to avoid the stirring up of trouble, because we don’t want elections that are scandalous, but one that is free and fair.”

“For instance, some of the new media personnel, and even some seasoned ones, might not understand the differences between the types of registration leading up to regional and general elections; therefore, this is a perfect opportunity to educate you on these and more aspects pertaining to elections,” he said.

That apart, Dr. Surujbally alluded to the fact that there are many misrepresentations being displayed, sometimes in the news. Therefore, he said, the media has to be more responsible in how they relay their information to members of the public.

Moreover, he disclosed that the exercise is one which is expected to capture the interest of the media, and also enhance their knowledge and understanding of general and regional elections in Guyana.

In remarks before the session commenced, Chief Elections Officer Mr Keith Lowenfield said the exercise was being undertaken to educate the media on the processes relative to the conduct of elections.

“The exercise should make the media intimately aware of the processes, so that we can work together in ensuring that the nation is informed as to what it is we’re doing, what is to happen next, and so forth…” he said.

Mr Lowenfield underscored that since the President announced the date for elections, apart from the session for the media, GECOM has been carrying out extensive training of polling day staff, new recruits and also exercises for the other staffers.
INTEREACTIVE SESSION
The interactive session was facilitated by three GECOM staffers who, for 4 hours, enlightened members of the media on duties of the various personnel employed during the elections period, the appointment of these personnel, proxy voting, intermixing of disciplined services and non-resident ballots, treating with persons in the queue at 18:00hrs, among other issues.

The facilitators firstly engaged the media personnel on the duties of the Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Officer, Poll Clerks, Ballot Clerks and Information Clerks on the Elections Day (E-Day).

After that, they explained how Polling Agents are appointed by the various political parties. They said that the number of political parties involved during elections decides how many polling agents there are involved in the elections; because one agent is selected by each party, and under those agents are assisting agents who also oversee proceeding during elections day.

These were just some of the issues that members of the media were exposed to Saturday;but from the Guyana Chronicle’s point of view, the training was comprehensive, and should be able to guide all media operatives throughout the elections period.