BUSINESSES have lamented that the elections season has unfortunately translated into a slowing down of operations, according to Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Persaud.During an appearance on “News in Conversation,” which was aired on the National Communications Network (NCN) on Wednesday, he added that the electoral process ought to be “a part of life” for Guyanese and so daily activities should continue as per normal.
On that note, Persaud also called for political parties and their leaderships to “abstain from the rhetoric and tensions” that are emanating from campaign platforms.

ADHERE TO CODE
“There have been a lot of irresponsible statements made on both sides…people need to let good sense prevail, because at the end of the day we all have to work, live and continue to build the country,” he said.
The PSC Chairman underscored that the conduct by stakeholders in the electoral process is reflective of the maturity of the country’s democracy. “It is evidenced by what we do,” he said.
Now that political parties have signed on to the Code of Conduct, it is expected that they would abide by the protocols documented in the Code, all in the interest of free and fair General and Regional Elections.
The advantage of having such an agreement in place, according to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), relates to being able to guard against confrontational and vitriolic election campaign meetings/rallies and statements. GECOM regards contesting parties signing the Code as demonstrating their willingness to craft their respective election campaign strategies in ways that contribute to the maintenance of peace and tranquility throughout and beyond the elections.
QUALITY OVER EXPEDIENCY
Turning his attention to the electoral process and its outcome, Persaud called for “patience and understanding” from political parties and other stakeholders in awaiting the results of the May 11 polls.
“We support quality over speed,” the PSC Chairman stressed, pointing to the challenges posed by Guyana’s geography, among other factors, that will see the declaration of the results taking time.
He added, “We must ensure that we have peace and non-violence and that requires leadership…we call on everyone to ensure that followers understand the process of getting results and ensure there is no one getting over anxious.”
Persaud called for Guyanese not to “speculate” and rely only on information from the Commission.
Meanwhile, the GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, in an earlier interview told the Guyana Chronicle that the Commission will not “breach the law” in the process of declaring the elections results.
Also, in a prior interview, he made it clear that the accuracy of the election results will not be sacrificed at the altar of expediency.
Dr Surujbally, noted that there are several factors to be considered for an earlier-than-usual declaration of the election results.
Those factors, he said, include the fact that political parties have 12 hours after polls have been closed to call for a recount as they see fit, given that their representatives would have been present during the initial count.
The logistics of manoeuvring Guyana’s geography is another consideration, the GECOM Chairman disclosed.
“All the factors will be taken into consideration to get the results out,” he said.
Legally, GECOM has 15 days to officially declare the outcome of General and Regional elections.

By Vanessa Narine