DAWN broke on a growing queue of ‘early birds’ who turned out at the Anna Catherina Nursery School to cast their vote, as I did. An elderly man being helped along by his wife, first time voters and longtime supporters of various political parties were among the many who marked the early morning atmosphere.Some walked and rode while others drove to their place of polls, passing on the way roadside set-ups, which were some distance away from the polling stations and provided assistance in the form of information in response to any E-Day queries. For many, this endeavour mounted by political parties proved useful.
‘Officer Blue’, as the mandatory rank stationed at the polling place was dubbed, greeted many of the voters, who quipped at the fact that he spent most of his time on his cellular phone complaining about how close the queues were to the polling station, rather than taking decisive action in the matter. He was fortunately rescued by polling day staffers who moved to give clear instructions, particularly valuable to first time voters, as to what ought to obtain.
Consequently, the actual process of electors being able to cast their vote commenced after the 6:00am scheduled start.
However, sorting the queues took some time given that what started as one line of electors was divided into three lines based on the alpha-split signage that assigned voters to different polling stations at the place of poll. Some level of misdirection found persons in wrong lines waiting their turn to vote, only to be told by the poll clerks that they were not scheduled to vote at that particular station.
For some, like me, voting took well over an hour. The protracted process was due in part to the fact that some persons turned out to vote with decommissioned identification cards and had to swear an oath and go through the process of being verified as the listed eligible voter before they were allowed to cast their ballot. While the process started to become something of a frustration, there was some hope, given that at least one of the lines of electors was moving at a fast pace.
Of particular distaste was the fact that at least one polling clerk openly disrespected one line of electors. “They should learn to read,” the individual shouted in the direction of an elderly person.
GECOM’S EMPLOYERS
The other electors promptly condemned the disdainful attitude of the GECOM staffer, particularly given the fact that less than 24 hours earlier, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, in an address to the nation, acknowledged that the electors are GECOM’s employers.

The GECOM Chairman stressed that Election Day staffers will be deployed with “the full understanding” that electors are GECOM’s employers. “We were given the job to manage these elections and we will not fail you,” Dr Surujbally said.
Despite the minor hiccups at the start of voting, the process was judged by voters as being fair with no consequential glitches.
Once inside the polling station, the polling clerks, helped along by the Presiding Officers, under the watchful eyes of two party agents, facilitated a smooth process of voting.
Polls closed promptly at 6:00pm with most electors having voted during the day.

By Vanessa Narine