THEY listened to the clarion calls of their leaders. Yesterday was May 11, 2015,the day of Guyana’s General and Regional Election. Held a year and half early, Guyanese were up before the crack of dawn and as the sun kissed the Atlantic sand, queues were already in place with vibrant chatter related to their Constitutional right, that of choosing the next Government to lead the nation into 2016 and beyond.

LIKE A BOSS
In villages and communities across the coastland, bells, whistles, trumpets and the ever fashionable homemade drums, demanded the attention of the electorate from as early as 02:30hrs, beckoning all to head out to their respective polling stations and as one 2015 election catch phrase coined, “Vote Like a Boss.”
Mothers accompanied their young daughters, fathers walked arm in arm with wives, sons and siblings, ageing couples were assisted and even the disabled made a special effort to exercise their franchise.
Election Day 2015 activities commenced promptly at 06:00hrs at the 2,299 polling stations across the country.
The Guyana Chronicle visited a number of polling stations and agents could be observed assisting persons, others could be seen perusing the Official List of Electors (OLE), as the long lines of electors continued to extend as the hours rolled on.

10 REGIONS
Party polling agents were also observed diligently scribing notations, as observers – international and local -fanned out across the 10 regions, keeping diligent watch over the electoral process meant to safeguard a hard- earned democracy.
From all accounts, despite the fear-mongering, yesterday’s electoral activities was “smooth runnings,” save for a momentary stand-off involving one party candidate barricading himself in a polling station as a mob of incensed adversaries had to be held at bay.
Another glitch that proved to be no real threat to the electoral process was that of dysfunctional numbering machines meant to mark ballot papers.
The Guyana Chronicle took to the streets at the crack of dawn and fanned out across the country, firstly encountering the machine glitch at the Central High School Polling Station, on Smyth Street in Georgetown.
A number of persons claimed disenfranchisement, since their ballot papers had not been stamped, a complaint echoed by scores at the location.
Alliance For Change (AFC) executive member, Khemraj Ramjattan, who eventually turned up at the polling station managed to pacify the situation following discussions with the Guyana Elections Commission Officials (GECOM).
The electors were assured their votes would be counted.

INTERNATIONAL EYE
The incident did not go unnoticed and was reported to the contingent fielded by the Organization of American States (OAS), here to observe the 2015 Regional and General Election in Guyana.
The Chronicle caught up with the head of the contingent, Ambassador, Lisa Shoman, as she observed the electoral process at polling stations while on the West Bank of Demerara.
Ambassador Shoman, which heads the delegation with resources across each of the 10 Regions in Guyana, said she was informed of the report and was also assured that it would prove to be no major hindrance.
The OAS Observer Mission has been in Guyana ever since last weekend, according to Ambassador Shoman.
She spoke of, as did most of the other international and local observers, meeting with the relevant stakeholders, namely GECOM, the political parties and the business community among others.
GECOM, she said, has granted full access to the OAS contingent, to all aspects of the electoral process, be it the preparation of the ballot boxes, its transportation and other logistics.

ON TIME
At the time of speaking to the Chronicle, Ambassador Shoman had already benefited from an early debriefing and said “it seems that all of the polling stations that we were monitoring opened on time.”
She said the collective average opening time of the polling stations monitored by the OAS, is 06:01hrs.
With resources deployed to all of the 10 geographic Regions of Guyana, Ambassador Shoman reported, “We have been getting reports from all of our observers.”
Grilled on the meetings with civil society ahead of yesterday’s poll, Ambassador Shoman told the Chronicle, “funny enough they all raised the harsh rhetoric of other parties.”
The head of the OAS delegation also reported on concerns of civil society related to the timeliness of the announcement of the election results among other matters.
Based on the OAS’s preliminary assessments yesterday, Ambassador Shoman, told the Chronicle that there was a reasonable promptness to the queues and related aspects to the voting process.
She did point out that based on observation, there is an adequate amount of personnel with the required information to be made available to persons with any queries.

DISSIPATED
By 06:30hrs, Guyanese had made clear their intentions to vote as the lines at polling stations quickly ballooned and just as quickly dissipated.
Persons could be seen streaming from every corner, nook and cranny, destination, to whichever polling station with their names affixed.
By noon, the majority of the polling stations this publication visited had emptied with staffers milling around attending to those trickling in throughout the course of the day.
The on average three-minute processing time for each of the electors, was complemented by the fact that GECOM had increased the number of polling stations across the country, an initiative many credited with the timely conclusion of the casting of ballots at the majority of polling stations countrywide.
The threat of inclement weather did not deter. Many elderly couples could be seen hand-in-hand making their way to polling stations. This publication observed persons in wheelchairs being accompanied, while others literally held a friend up to walk, exiting the polling station with an ink-stained finger raised with pride.
One such friend in need, identified himself as Gopaul and though visibly stricken by a stroke, making each step, much more of an effort, he said he wanted to show his support for the party of his choice.
“I still bare my chafe and exercised my right,” said Gopaul, with stained finger raised.

NO EXIT POLLS/ NORTH AMERICANS SILENT
The Guyana Chronicle did not attempt any Exit Polls; the Canadian and American observers opted to make no public comment ahead of any formal announcements.
Some of the North American observers that this publication spoke with on the condition of anonymity did laud the process. One quipped, “smooth runnings.”
One local observer group, a trades union body that fielded representatives, also spoke laudably about the 2015 electoral process and complimented the mechanisms put in place to ensure a smooth elections process.
Trevor Daly of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) – speaking with the Guyana Chronicle as a finger- stained, visually impaired young man was assisted out of the polling station having exercised his constitutional right – said the trade union body fielded a contingent of 180 persons that had been spread primarily along the Guyana coastline.

MISINFORMATION
He conceded fielding very little observers in hinterland communities but said collaboration with other observer missions will fill the void, in the GPSU’s mission.
Daly reported, as did his OAS counterpart, that polling stations observed by the GPSU all opened on time.
The process, he said, “appears to be generally smooth.” He also complimented the GECOM staff saying, “The officials seem to know their functions well.”
He testified too, to observing an expeditious voting process, on the average of three to five minutes.
Daly did report, what he considered one disturbing fact, in that there were booths placed on the outskirts of polling stations manned by personnel from both the major parties contesting the election.
He alleged, but refused to implicate any of the two, saying that their agents had been providing misinformation to voters.
He qualified his position saying, “I just want to stick to the issue of itself and not label anybody.”
This was a report, none of the other observers this publication spoke with could corroborate.

SMALL PARTIES ABSENT
While there were party agents for the main contenders at each of the polling stations visited by this publication, none were observed from any of the smaller parties such as The United Force or the Independent Party.
As the midday sun shone boastfully above, Former A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Africo Selman made her way to a polling station, but provided good excuse for her mid-morning arrival to cast her ballot.
Selman told the Guyana Chronicle, “I am now here because I have been taking persons to vote.”
She said these included persons who would have also never supported the party she opted to support this time around, but voted in solidarity with her and her decision to partner with the incumbent Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C).
Selman told the Guyana Chronicle, she is cognizant of the fact the decision to leave the APNU fold to join up with the PPP/C ranks cannot be revered but assured, “I am feeling great, I know we are going win, I am quite positive.”

INTIMIDATION
Party candidates also fanned out across the polling stations to protect their interests, but at least one has been accused of intimidation.
At La Bonne Intention (LBI) on the East Coast of Demerara, APNU executive member, Basil Williams, has been accused of threatening at least one group of persons.
The individuals who claim to be doing work on behalf of the ruling party, said Williams came to the area and spoke words to the effect of them possibly having grenades.
They said they felt intimidated by Williams’s assertion, but he left before things escalated.
Still on the ECD, APNU’s James Bond was observed at a Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara polling station and during a brief interview with this publication, called for an acceptance of the results of yesterday’s polls whichever ways it goes.
A candid James Bond also lauded what he called the political maturity of the Guyanese people.
He told the Chronicle, besides the rhetoric, “both sides campaigned very hard.”
Bond said whichever side emerges victorious following the polls will have been given the mandate to govern the people over the next five years.
“I am happy at the peaceful process Guyanese are experiencing,” Bond said in reference to yesterday’s Elections Day.
Having had to vote in Berbice, Bond said he is joyful at the atmosphere experienced after persons had finished casting their votes yesterday.
“I think our democracy has matured and we have had issues in the past but the leaders of today are more responsible.”
Bond was adamant too in calling for a respecting of the elections results.
According to the practising attorney-at-law, “I will never ever condone violence of any sort….if the leaders accept the results, then we need to accept the results.”
He said in cases where the leaders do not accept the results then there are procedures available to challenge the results.
Election Day was declared a national holiday and as the day progressed, the almost carnival-like atmosphere that beckoned electors to the polling station subsided to an afternoon gaffe among friends, family and neighbours, complemented in some quarters with drinks of a higher quality.
Some opted for a ball game while others retreated to the sanctuary of their homes for the painstaking wait to hear who will be announced the next Head of State, incumbent President Donald Ramotar or Opposition challenger, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger.
For some, following the vote, it was business as usual, while others such as the ranks of the security services were out in their numbers ensuring the preservation of a conducive elections environment.
Chairman of the Elections Commission, Dr Steve Surujbally, had on Sunday cautioned Guyanese to be patient as it relates to the announcement of the results of the 2015 General and Regional Elections.
He promised an announcement in the fastest possible time, possibly by this evening.

Gary Eleazar