WITH a little more than two weeks before the General and Regional Elections, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has committed to the publication of the list of polling stations across the length and breadth of Guyana before the weekend.

The Commission’s Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle stated that there are some 2,299 polling stations in the 10 electoral districts across Guyana, of which approximately 166 are private residences.
He explained that, prior to the publication of the list of polling places; GECOM was involved in ensuring that the private residences were locations that all stakeholders in the electoral process were in agreement with.

“We will make the list public in a timely manner and hope that when we do this there won’t be any changes… historically we have not changed the private residences in a massive way, but there is the possibility that there may be a few last minute changes,” Dr. Surujbally said.
He also assured that the polling stations are positioned as close as possible in the district where the population of eligible voters resides.
“We don’t want voters to walk ten miles to a polling station,” the GECOM Chairman said.
Dr. Surujbally’s assurances follow questions from the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, over the approval of the final list of polling places.
“It is expected that voters will be given adequate time to familiarise themselves with their respective polling places,” Rohee said at a news conference on Monday at Freedom House.
Additionally, GECOM’s Chief Election Officer (CEO), Mr. Keith Lowenfield indicated that as far as is practicable, GECOM will be contacting political parties promptly and notifying them about any changes in the location of any polling station, should any such changes occur.
Reports are that copies of the proposed list were given to the GECOM Commissioners for them to study and comment on. Thereafter, the proposed list of polling stations will be discussed at Commission level, with a view to bringing it to finality and publication. (Vanessa Narine)