IF THE turnout for Local Government Elections (LGE) was lower than expected, it is not because the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) did not offer education to the voting public; but may very well have been because the candidates themselves did not do a good enough job in this respect.“Or it could be that the voters are sick and tired of the posturing and the blame throwing, not lastly at one another,” GECOM said in a press release.

The release added: “There are surely several other elements and considerations which can be factored into the debate about the level of turnout.”

GECOM said it wasn’t for the want of trying that it had been focused and resolute in its preparations for the LGE. It said it had followed to the letter the Local Authorities (Elections) Law, which clearly stipulates what GECOM is responsible for — conduct of the elections.

That responsibility encompasses voter registration; compilation of the Official Voters’ List; the procurement, production and management of ballot sheets and other sensitive and non-sensitive materials for elections; the management of polls and E-day staff; and the declaration of the results.

The GECOM release has said that, notwithstanding its legal mandate, it has proactively and actively engaged in civic voter education undertakings since the last quarter, shortly after the May 2015 General and Regional Elections. “Yet we are daily confronted by the accusations of those who will not recognise our efforts, but even unabashedly posture that they are doing GECOM’s work.

“The fact is that we are doing their work, since many of the candidates seem to have abrogated their responsibilities. After all, those who are making the negative and deleterious comments about GECOM are the ones who want to be elected.”

GECOM has also acknowledged the organisations that were actively involved in bringing awareness to the public and disseminating information on the Local Government Elections. These include Merundoi Inc Guyana, The Guyana National Youth Council, and Youth Challenge Guyana.

“Never, in the history of Civic and Voter Education in Guyana, has so much positive result-yielding effort been made. We therefore demand to know, instead of nattering negativities, what the complainers would have done more and better. GECOM carried the voters to the proverbial water; it was up to the candidates to encourage them to drink,” GECOM emphasised.

Below is a listed synopsis of GECOM’s activities pertaining to civic and voter education:
1. Public announcement messages on the various aspects of the electoral process were conceptualised, produced and disseminated. Nine skit-type and nine narrative messages, with a sign language component for the benefit of the hearing-impaired, were produced and aired on radio and television stations.

2. One hundred thousand (100,000) flyers and brochures on Local Government Elections were produced and distributed at the grassroots level via all registration offices, political parties and stakeholders.

3. Interactive public engagements were held within all of the 71 Local Authority Areas. The schedules for these meetings were publicized in the print media and via public address systems, and flyers were distributed within the respective communities.

4. Public engagements were held with potential contestants in the run-up to the deadline for the submission of application for approval of symbols and requirements for lists submission on Nomination Day, etc.

5. Weekly panel discussions on Local Government Elections (were held), with a call-in feature on NCN. Copies of this programme were shown on television stations in regions where NCN broadcasts do not reach.

6. Production and distribution of 100,000 copies of flyers about “No Contest Areas” and the three different types of ballots.

7. On a weekly basis, full-page, half-page and quarter-page advertisements were offered to the public in the four daily newspapers, with information on the Local Government Elections’ process. These advertisements included information on proxy applications, illustrations of the voting process, voting requirements, etc.

8. Invitations to discussions on LGE, facilitated by GECOM, were dispatched to 96 civil society organisations across the coastland. These organisations were required to invite their respective constituencies to these forums for interaction.

9. Meetings were arranged in Local Authority Areas & constituencies where there were to be no elections, in order to advise electors of that particular process.

10. Hotlines had been established, and were adequately publicised.
11. Pertinent information is published continuously on the GECOM website.

12. GECOM participated meaningfully at public events; e.g. Essequibo Night & Business Expo.

13. Ballot Officers Meetings were conducted with ranks at strategic Disciplined Forces’ locations, including the Mazaruni Prison.

14. “ASK GECOM STREET MARKETING CAMPAIGN”, which included Pop Up Booths around the country and a mini-caravan sharing information on LGE, were executed.

15. Numerous appearances on TV talk shows.

16. Installation of LAA and constituency billboards.
17. “Below-the-line Text Messaging” on LGE via GTT and Digicel.

18. Scroll advertisements and messages on television stations.