-Rohee says ‘very efficient’ system was put in place

By Naomi Parris and Cindy Parkinson

EARLY voting for Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ranks got off to a smooth start on Friday morning at Base Camp Ayanganna, and at the close of poll there were no reports of any incidents that threatened to undermine the integrity of the process.

GDF’s Chief of Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan was among several top-ranking officers to cast his ballot just after the polling station opened at 06:00 hours.

Khan later told members of the media that approximately 2,799 ranks were expected to vote at the 23 polling stations that were established across the country, by the close of poll.

“This morning our voting process began at 06:00 hours and so far, I have been informed that it is going smoothly…in our total voting population, we have 2,799 ranks that were expected to vote today and the uniqueness of the military and the joint services [is] we have ranks across many locations. I believe we have 16 locations with 23 polling stations,” he said.

Ranks who reside in no contest Local Authority Areas (LAA) will not be voting.

Some 9,093 GDF, Guyana Police Force (GPF) and Guyana Prison Service (GPS) ranks were expected to vote on Friday. It is customary for these ranks to vote days ahead of the general public as they are in charge of security on the official day of the elections.

The general public will head to the polls on June 12.

SMOOTH

Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, expressed satisfaction with the “smooth” voting process.

Singh, while observing the voting exercise at Base Camp Ayanganna, said that all systems are in place for the general public to vote.

While no hiccups are expected, she said, commissioners from the various political parties may raise some concerns and those will be addressed.

“All systems are in place now but commissioners have a way of raising issues and those will be dealt with in due course,” she told members of the media.

Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Aneal Giddings later reassured the nation that all systems are in place for a smooth voting process on June 12.

“We have concretised all of the polling stations at this point, 1, 574 to be exact,” Giddings said.

Meanwhile, the GDF’s Coast Guard ranks turned up in their numbers at the Coast Guard Headquarters, at Ramp Road, Ruimveldt, to cast their ballot for the representatives in their constituency.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, one of the Coast Guard officers, Michael (only name given), said: “It was very important for me to vote for the leaders in my Region Three community who I believe will represent us properly. I want to encourage everyone to vote on June 12 and let them know that the process is a very simple one, and the GECOM officials are also very helpful in guiding you through the process.”

The other ranks who were present at the time of Chronicle’s visit expressed similar sentiments.

While the Coast Guards were casting their votes, government-appointed GECOM Commissioner, Clement Rohee, told this publication that “this is one out of a number of visits that I’ve made this morning to the different balloting stations on the occasion of the LGE and the voting by the discipline services. What I can say is that the process has so far been going smoothly, even though some of the stations started off a bit slowly compared to the others.”

DRESS REHEARSAL

Rohee explained that he is not surprised that everything is progressing so smoothly since the system that GECOM has put in place is “very efficient”.

According to him, it also helps that the party agents are observing the process to ensure that there is transparency as well as to provide guidance to persons who need it.

“GECOM has a system for the discipline forces and LGE, and I am convinced that systemically it is doable and workable. We have enough man power and there has been a lot of training in preparation for it,” he added.

According to Rohee, Friday’s voting serves as a “dress rehearsal” for what will happen on June 12.

He also added that as a commission, GECOM will sit and assess the individual appraisals of the June 6 process and make the necessary “tweaking” in terms of the legality of anything if the need arises.

This publication also spoke with opposition-appointed commissioner, Desmond Trotman at the Sparendaam Police Station on the East Coast Demerara.

He expressed hope that all who were registered to vote at that location would be able to do so.