— whenever called upon, says PRO

AMIDST the possibility that General and Regional Elections (GECOM) could be held within 90 days, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has given the assurance that it will do everything to ensure that the elections are properly conducted to the highest standards.
The elections which were scheduled for 2020 could be brought forward because of a no-confidence motion which was tabled by the parliamentary opposition and passed in the National Assembly.

“With this no-confidence motion, it means once the date is set, it will be held… it is our constitutional mandate to conduct the General and Regional Elections and Local Government Elections (LGEs) whenever they are constitutionally due; so whether it is in the 90 days then it is GECOM’s responsibility to conduct elections,” said Public Relations Officer (PRO) of GECOM Yolanda Warde during a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Thursday.

According to Warde, GECOM has basic standards, but they will have operations to put into gear to ensure that the commission delivers smooth, efficient and effective elections.
At the policy level, which is the level of the commission, the chairman of GECOM Justice Ret’d, James Patterson, who was not well, had agreed to reconvene statutory meetings on January 8, 2019.

Warde was however unaware of any change in that plan, but believes that once the commission meets and deliberates, everything would be addressed and they would be guided according to a date.

GECOM is guided by law and so what guides the conduct of elections is chapter 103 of the constitution, which falls under the Representation of the People Act.

“What the law says GECOM has to do we will have to follow, it is conducted within the confines of the law… our guiding principle will be what is rooted in chapter 103… critical will be the timeline which we will use it to guide us to ensure we stay within the specific timeline,” said Warde, noting that the political parties will also be guided according to the stipulated timelines.

According to a report from the Department of Public Information, GECOM secured some $5.4Billion in 2019, $3Billion of which will be utilised for the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan during presentation of the 2019 National Budget told the National Assembly that almost $3 Billion of the total allocation will go towards preparation of the General and Regional Elections, constitutionally due by August 2020.

Asked if the finance would be sufficient, Warde said the commission has not examined the financial aspect as yet, but she was certain that since it is an election, provisions will be made to have adequate sums.

The PRO agreed that the commission has started internal discussions on the issue, but it is yet to be fully discussed.