MAY 1 was the deadline for applications to be made by persons wishing to vote by proxy and out of 2,939 applications, some 2,679 were issued by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) after a verification of the applications.The disclosure was made by a Senior GECOM official, who told the Guyana Chronicle that District 4, which has the largest population of electors, was the area where the most proxies were issued.
The official added that some polling day staffers working with GECOM were also issued proxies, given that they were posted outside of their voting districts.
Meanwhile, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, in an earlier interview, stated that the highest level of professionalism and compliance with legal provisions has been complied with during the verification process.
Lowenfield noted too that GECOM staffers have been briefed and there will be no “sample or survey” checks, rather, complete verifications will be done.
“We have a procedure that sees our staff and party agents investigate all proxies,” he declared.
Legal provisions regarding the use of proxies will be followed, according to GECOM Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally.
“We will follow the law,” he declared emphatically, in an earlier comment to the Guyana Chronicle, when asked to respond to concerns raised by the ruling party.
Proxy voting is guided by Section 30 of the Representation of the People’s Act. Applications for proxies have to be sent to GECOM’s Returning Officers no later than the 10th day before Elections Day, in this case by May 1st. According to the law, election agents on the fourth day before Election Day have the right to review and copy the list of persons who are slated to vote by proxy. (Vanessa Narine)