GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Monday said it is prepared for members of the Disciplined Services casting their ballots on Friday ahead of the September 1 general elections.
GECOM also announced that 757 690 voters are eligible to cast their ballots at 2,790 polling stations across the country for the general and regional elections.
“We are well poised for the elections on Friday,” Deputy Chief Election Officer, Aneal Giddings, told a news conference, adding that an aircraft would be assisting with “hopscotch balloting” to be conducted at police stations mainly in the interior areas.
Giddings said there are 83 balloting stations and 67 ballot boxes for Friday and that 10,481 members of the Disciplined Services are eligible to vote, including 6,909 members of the Disciplined Services, 3,106 soldiers, and 466 prison service employees.
He stated that 92 persons working at 20 diplomatic missions are listed to vote, and returns from two Diplomatic Missions have already been received in a sealed ballot box.
Giddings said members of the Disciplined Services are not entitled to vote by proxy. However, if they are unable to vote on Friday, they can do so on September 1 with the rest of the population.
Meanwhile, Chief Elections Officer, Vishnu Persaud, told reporters that it would be “virtually impossible, unless there is collusion,” for anyone to vote more than once at the elections.
Addressing the possibility of vote rigging, Persaud said several measures designed to safeguard the integrity of the process, including a portfolio of coloured photographs of registered voters, have been strengthened to make impersonation and duplication more difficult.
Persaud said the use of electoral ink to confirm voting is also stringent to prevent duplication and that electors will be required to dip their finger into the ink, which has been manufactured to high standards of durability.
“I recognise there was a comment about the potency of the ink. The manufacturers and suppliers have given assurance that it is not possible to remove the ink easily, unless something was deliberately applied to the finger beforehand,” Persaud said, adding that the ink should be allowed to dry naturally. Electors will be asked to clean their fingers before voting at the upcoming elections.
Six candidates are contesting the position of President during the elections. They are the incumbent, President Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), Aubrey Norton of the main coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Nigel Hughes of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Azruddin Mohamed of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party, Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement and the leader of the Assembly for Liberty & Prosperity (ALP) movement, Dr. Simona Broomes.
Seven political parties are contesting the elections, but political observers say that the race will be a contest mainly between the PPP/C and the APNU.
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