GUYANA Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, has announced that April 7 is Nomination Day and he appealed to political parties contesting the elections to demonstrate decorum during the elections campaign. Addressing representatives of the political parties intending to contest the May 11 General and Regional Elections at the Commission’s Secretariat at Kingston, Georgetown, Dr Surujbally said he expects that the days of “bradarism” is over.

“I am appealing since I cannot dictate, I am appealing to combatants within the realms of the respective political parties to ensure that they maintain campaign decorum and that political speeches and rhetoric will remain respectful at all times. This respect is not for opposing parties themselves, this respect has to do with the Commission as well as the electorate,” the GECOM Chairman said.

CODE OF CONDUCT
He, however, acknowledged that over the years, political parties here have become more mature, crediting the maturity in part to political leaders abiding by the Elections Code of Conduct for political parties.
“In fact, I can go so far as to say after the political parties so maturely put together through GECOM’s guidance the Code of Conduct for political parties, and to a large extent, all the parties adhere to the code. I would hate to know that over the next two months, we revert to what we had in the past.”
He said the tenets of the code and legislation are representative of the guiding principles of GECOM, pointing out that the Commission is committed to managing the conduct of the elections within the Constitution and other statutory provisions.
MOSAIC OF DEMOCRACY
“In following those principles, we expect that we will be treated with dignity and respect. If the point of origin in our thoughts, beliefs and convictions represent one of the most important tiles in the mosaic of democracy, then you have to show that respect to the purveyors, the organisers and the management of the electoral process, in this case, GECOM,” Dr Surajbally said.
The Chairman of the elections body said he is proud of the work of the Commission, boasting that in the global arena, GECOM is held in high esteem.
GECOM is part of a Commonwealth network of elections commissions, and according to Dr Surujbally, hardly a week or month passes without a country in the grouping contacting the Commission for solutions to its electoral challenges.
PASSION FOR PERFECTION
He said GECOM has gained the respect mainly because of the Secretariat’s conviction of doing what is correct, following the direction of the Commissioners and having a passion to get things right.
Yesterday’s meeting was aimed to equip the representatives of the political parties with the relevant information for a smooth process on Nomination Day and the approval of the List of Candidates for the various political parties.
The Commission is working to ensure that the conduct in the elections is aboveboard – free, fair, transparent, and acceptable to the nation and the international community – and is in consonance with the spirit of the Constitution of Guyana.
GECOM Chief Executive Officer Keith Lowenfield said the meeting spells out all the precursor activities required for the conduct of nomination before the move towards May 11 for the elections proper.
It was against this backdrop that representatives of the different political parties were invited to the meeting, with the primary objective being to ensure that they all sing from one song sheet as it relates to preparatory activities.
“These activities are all statutory in nature, the law requires of us as a body and you as representatives of political parties to ensure that the processes required, every step of the way, are followed to letter of the law,” the GECOM Chief Executive Officer told the gathering.
Meanwhile, GECOM recently concluded the Claims and Objection exercise, the end of which saw 45 of 416 objections upheld; approximately 6,375 transfers, due to issues related to change of address, etc.; 3,904 new registrants; approximately 1,646 changes and corrections to existing registration information; 1,681 replacements of identification cards requested; and 634 retakes of photographs.
“We are happy about that, it says to the Commission and the Secretariat that the nation is responding to our request to have all the processes required for the official conduct of elections. Today marks another step in which parties need to know, understand so that they can efficiently operationalise these processes going forward. It will no doubt minimise likely errors contained in submissions for Nomination Day, in the first instance, so that the period for corrections will be a smooth one, should there be any,” Lowenfield said.
Additionally, it is expected that GECOM will publish the Revised List of Electors (RLE) by March 16. After that the Official List of Elections (OLE), which will facilitate voting on Elections Day, will be completed, likely by April 13.