…coalition attributes high turnout to lawmen’s confidence in President Granger

OF the 10,226 eligible voters from the Disciplined Services, a total of 8,369 persons or 81.8% voted on Friday.

According to Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM),Yolanda Ward, statistics recorded by the commission indicate that from the Guyana Police Force, 5400 or 80.6% of eligible voters casted their ballots. From the Guyana Defence Force, 2539 or 83.6% of eligible voters, voted. From the Guyana Prison Service, 430 persons or 88.1% of the total eligible voters casted their ballots on Friday.

A total of 82 polling stations were made available by GECOM at various locations across the country for members of the Disciplined Services.

Chairperson of the GECOM, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, and several of her commissioners expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the joint services voting on Friday.

Justice Singh told journalists that she visited a number of polling stations including the Ruimveldt Police Station, Base Camp Seweyo, the Police Officers’ Mess at Eve Leary, and the Guyana Police Force Training Centre, and voting by the Joint Services members were being done in a peaceful and orderly manner.

“No concerns were raised. Everything is going very smoothly. We are not aware of any concerns so far,” the GECOM Chair said. Justice Singh noted that at some polling stations, the voter turnout was relatively high compared to others but explained that such is due to the fact that members of the Disciplined Services were working at different periods of the day.

Government-nominated Elections Commissioner, Desmond Trotman, who was seen observing the polling at the Georgetown Prison Conference Room, also expressed satisfaction. He said not only did voting commence on time, but also members of the Joint Services had turned out in their numbers to cast their ballots. “In my own estimation, it is going well so far. In some places where there are massive numbers, there is a massive turn out, and so a lot of people are actually there and voting. Here, where there is a small number—126– already 45 persons have voted,” Trotman told the Guyana Times during the early hours of the elections.

Another Elections Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, who was also present at the Georgetown Prison Conference Room, made similar observations. “So far, it seems to be going pretty smoothly,” Gunraj said, while noting that there were no reported incidents. GECOM had informed members of the Disciplined Services that at an appointed day before March 2, 2020, all Disciplined Services’ ballots will be sorted accordingly in the presence of party agents. In order to protect the secrecy of the votes cast, the ballot papers will not be stamped with the official six-digit stamp until Election Day and intermixed with the votes of others for counting. In addition to the 10,226 members of the Disciplined Services who were expected to vote on Friday, 83 non-resident electors were scheduled to cast their votes.

Coalition heartened
Meanwhile, the ruling APNU+AFC Coalition in a statement Saturday said it is heartened by the high level of turnout by the members of the Disciplined Services for their voting on Friday February. The coalition said the 82% turnout is a clear indication of the immense confidence that the members of the Joint Services have in the leadership provided by President Brigadier, David Granger and the APNU+AFC Coalition Government. “Further, this unprecedented turnout is higher than that achieved in 2015 when our Coalition went on to win the elections.”

According to the coalition life for the hardworking members of the Joint Services has improved significantly under the APNU+AFC Coalition Government with vastly increased salaries, lower taxes, more training opportunities, better conditions of work, meritorious promotions, more equipment and greater resources.

“The Joint Services put their lives on the line to keep our country and its citizens safe and their welfare and wellbeing are top priorities for our Coalition Government. We are committed to ensuring that their quality of life, like that of all Guyanese improves even more during our next term in government,” the statement added.

“The APNU+AFC Coalition is the only party that is committed to ensuring that every member of our joint services is a homeowner.  We salute the members of the Joint Services for their impressive turnout on Disciplined Services Voting Day and look forward to them providing services on E-Day, March 2nd to ensure a safe day of voting for all eligible electors.”