ONE emphatic stance has been met by another in the continuing exchange between the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on the issue of public vetting of E-Day staffers.“The PPP is wary of GECOM’s defensive statements in response to issues and concerns raised by political parties, especially towards the recruitment and training of polling day staff, moreso the downright refusal to public scrutiny of these persons. This should be no secret nor kept as a surprise to the nation, every voter deserves to know the person or persons sitting in the polling station, where they have to cast their ballot,” said PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee.

At the Party’s weekly press conference, held at Freedom House on Monday, he noted that the “unwillingness” of GECOM to facilitate public vetting of E-Day staffers is a perturbing trend.
“The party views this move as a very sinister and undemocratic act against the Guyanese people. The PPP has been the lone advocate in its calls for vetting of potential polling day staff. Contrary to what is being perceived, the Party supports vetting of these individuals by all major political stakeholders and the electorate,” he said.
Rohee cited history and noted that polling day staff has a significant impact on the transparency and integrity of the electoral process, hence, much emphasis must be placed on recruiting experienced, qualified and neutral persons to fill these positions through a transparent process, a process that involves the electorate, and public vetting will only serve to boost confidence in the system.
“We have seen in 2011 the unprofessional and biased acts by a few presiding and assistant presiding officers towards PPP supporters, polling agents and candidates, especially in Georgetown,” he said.
Meanwhile, GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, told the Guyana Chronicle that the Commission’s position on the matter has been articulated repeatedly in a “definitive” manner.
The Commission, from all indications, seems unwilling to entertain the PPP General Secretary’s repeated calls.
Prior to yesterday’s debate on the matter, Dr. Surujbally had assured that GECOM will not be hiring persons who do not satisfy the required qualification criteria.
The GECOM Chairman assured that GECOM’s employment process will be guided by established employment best practices towards ensuring that the best candidates with the requisite knowledge, skills and experience are appointed to the various positions that are relevant to elections management.
Additionally, the Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Vishnu Persaud, had also reiterated similar sentiments before.
The DCEO added that employees engaged by GECOM are already vetted.
He said, “We have vetted our polling day staff. We sent out applications, people responded, we shortlisted them on the basis of the criteria we set out. We have trained them. We went through evaluations and on this basis, the levels of achievement, we will be selecting people to work in polling stations.”
Persaud added that the persons hired are also dispatched within their areas, where they are known to the voters in that particular area.
MAY BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE
He expressed the view that public vetting of the Commission’s employees may be a counter-productive engagement.
“We have received calls from potential employees that say, you publish our names we will not work,” the DCEO stated, adding that in this regard GECOM may find itself unable to fill the staff quota needed for the hosting of the May 11 General and Regional Elections.
“We are confident that the people we have appointed and will appoint are persons who are adequately trained and would have demonstrated competence,” Persaud said.
GECOM’s senior officials have expressed confidence in the electoral process and in the Commission’s ability to conduct free and fair elections. (Vanessa Narine)