Information Guyana

PPP calls on law enforcement to safeguard integrity of election process

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THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has forthrightly condemned the willful torching of two buildings and two vehicles in Sophia by a mob who openly voiced their allegiance to the Opposition. One of the buildings and the vehicles belong to a supporter of the PPP.<br />
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Information reaching the party’s Freedom House headquarters indicate that earlier in the day the PPP supporter was wrongfully accused of electoral infractions by members of the mob.<br />
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It was also reported that following the accusations earlier in the day, a senior member of the Opposition alliance visited the area and eventually noted that nothing illegal had transpired.<br />
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“It therefore now becomes worrying that a mob, with its loyalty to the coalition, would resort to such violence putting many lives at risk. Such incidents must be condemned by all,” Party said in a statement issued around 11 pm (23:00 hrs).<br />
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According to the PPP, Guyana’s electoral history is replete with these incidents which must be laid squarely at the doorstep of the Opposition. In this regard, the PPP calls on the Leader of the APNU-AFC alliance, Rt. Brig. David Granger, and its Prime Ministerial Candidate, Moses Nagamootoo, to condemn these acts of violence and to have their supporters cease their actions. “These violent acts are against the tenets of democracy and create unwanted instability in our country,” the PPP charged.<br />
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“As the polls closed earlier, the PPP would like to note how pleased it is with the turnout of its supporters. Our Party takes this opportunity to express its gratitude to the many thousands who came out and stood for long periods to exercise their democratic right to cast a vote. Their patience is testimony to their belief in a progressive Guyana and to sustain the strides made under the PPP government,” the incumbent party stated.<br />
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“While our Party is please in this regard, it must note its disappointment at the unprofessional discharge of duties by some GECOM staff in some areas up to this point. This is totally unacceptable and those officers who chose not to operate in a professional manner must be condemned and must answer for their transgression,” the PPP declared.<br />
The party said it recognises that while some operated in an unacceptable manner, many other GECOM staff performed admirably and must be commended for their professional discharge of duties.<br />
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Now that the counting phase is underway, the PPP is extremely concern over the many reports received of aggressive behavior by Opposition elements who have surrounded some polling stations. We believe that this is a calculated attempt by the Opposition to intimidate our election agents in an effort to compromise the counting process. Our Party calls on GECOM and the law enforcement agencies to act accordingly to protect the integrity of these elections and to ensure the safety of those involved.<br />
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The PPP calls on its supporters to remain calm but remain vigilant to safeguard the process.<br />
Additionally, our Party will continue to follow up with GECOM concerns it raised earlier. Among those are reported cases of duplicate voting, a deliberate slow pace of the voting process by some election day staff, voting by imposters and the intimidation of voters in some areas.<br />
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PPP calls on law enforcement to safeguard integrity of election process

THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has forthrightly condemned the willful torching of two buildings and two vehicles in Sophia by a mob ...

Raphael Trotman says APNU+AFC satisfied “so far” with voting process

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The APNU+AFC Coalition is still monitoring the voting process across the country on Elections Day and is generally satisfied with the voting process “so far”.</div>
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Co-Chairman of the APNU+AFC coalition, Raphael Trotman told reporters at an early Monday afternoon press conference that the coalition remains confident of victory when the results are announced.</div>
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He said based on information from many of the outlying regions, the voting process has gone smoothly with a large voter turn out in many parts of the country including Georgetown.</div>
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He said the coalition received a report of an underage young woman casting a ballot in Region Five, but the matter is under investigation.</div>
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Trotman said persons who have still not voted as ought to do so before the close of polls.</div>
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“Every citizen should go out and vote. It is our right. You can’t criticize a government if we did not participate in choosing that government”, he said.</div>
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Trotman also said it is important for persons to remain vigilant as voting comes to a close. He said persons should guard their vote and their democratic right. The campaign chairman  said while they should not interfere with the process, they should not go home and forget about it.</div>
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“If there is nothing bad happening in a polling place, then there is nothing to worry about”.</div>

Raphael Trotman says APNU+AFC satisfied “so far” with voting process

The APNU+AFC Coalition is still monitoring the voting process across the country on Elections Day and is generally satisfied with the votin...

Observer Missions Give Kudos To Guyana For Election Process

Amid a few minor hiccups, the country and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by extension has come in for highpraise from both the international and domestic observer missions that are monitoring the electoral process.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UNASUR Observer Mission in Guyana</td></tr>
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Currently there are five international observer missions and 14 local groups conducting observation works in the country. This includes the pre and post election periods, the voting process and tabulation of the ballots.<br />
Guyana Times caught up with some of the observer missions to get their reactions to polling day activities. Chief of Mission for the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Guyana, Ambassador Lisa Shoman has expressed her satisfaction with the conducting of polls, while noting that 98 per cent of the polling stations opened on time.<br />
“Early this morning there was quite, a good turnout and I think we were able to observe the opening of the polls. The polling stations had the materials that they needed,” she noted. Shoman added that the OAS observers in the 10 administrative regions had submitted a preliminary report on the opening of polls in all 10 regions.<br />
However, the OAS Chief of Mission registered her disappointment with the long procedure that is in place for voters without identification cards. “There are a couple of places where it took long and we have noted that it is people coming without ID cards, it takes between five to eight minutes to have them vote so it’s a little slow.”<br />
These sentiments were adopted by the team from the Union of the South American Nations (UNASUR), who also congratulated the country and GECOM for what they say was an efficient and transparent voting process.<br />
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Special Representative of the South American organisation, Dr Domingo Paredes, praised the electoral systems that are in place. He pointed out that the voting stages adopted by Guyana are not seen in any other South American countries, referring to the ID display in polling stations, the presence of security personnel at all polling stations and political representatives in the stations among others.<br />
Paredes commended the Election Commission for a job well done, noting that their voter’s education programme was on par. He specifically mentioned the visual displays around the polling stations displaying the stages of the voting process.<br />
Nevertheless, the UNASUR representatives highlighted a few issues that came to their attention such as the lack of accessibility for the handicapped and the elderly to the polling station. Furthermore, he noted that there are limited polling stations, hence the long queues.<br />
UNASUR had observers at 33 polling stations in four regions. There were observers at four polling stations in Parika, at eight stations in Georgetown and New Amsterdam, and five in Linden.<br />
In addition, the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Ramesh Persaud dubbed the election process “credible”. He told Guyana Times that he had the opportunity to visit polling stations in outlining areas such as Diamond, Skeldon and Linden.<br />
Persaud sang the praises of the GECOM staff, noting that they were “properly trained” and the systems in place were in accordance to the country’s practices. He added that the voting process was moving apace, since by 10:00h, most of the polling stations were cleared.<br />
Furthermore, the PSC Chairman is urging Guyanese to be patience and accept the official results published by GECOM. “The process was credible, the staff were diligent and I even spoke to the political agents and while there were some minor discrepancies, it was nothing had could alter the results.”<br />
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Observer Mission, which has a seven-member team in Guyana, has stated that observers were deployed to polling stations in and around Georgetown, Charity Linden and New Amsterdam.<br />
At these locations, the Commonwealth observers “met with local election officials and Police commanders and collaborated with other observer groups”. The international organisation team observed the voting process, counting of the votes and transmittal of the results from the various polling stations back to the Elections Commission head office in Kingston. The group is expected to deliver a preliminary report on Wednesday.<br />
Observers from the United States Embassy were seen in the Corentyne monitoring various polling stations. They indicated that up to midday on Monday, when approached by this newspaper, there were no complications.

Observer Missions Give Kudos To Guyana For Election Process

Amid a few minor hiccups, the country and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by extension has come in for highpraise from both the inte...

Fiery election unrest in Sophia following allegation of bogus polling station

Several vehicles were burnt and a house, where Sophia residents alleged was a bogus polling station, was under threat.<br />
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Police and soldiers were deployed to the scene where our reporter, Zena Henry, reports that the situation seems to be calming.<br />
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Co-campaign manager for the coalition of A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), Raphael Trotman said party officials were late Monday night expected to emerge from a strategy meeting and visit several hot spots to urge supporters to be calm.<br />
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Police fired pellets in a bid to disperse an angry crowd that continues to demand that ballot boxes  be removed from the house located at “C” Field, Sophia. <br />
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The fire has so far ravaged several vehicles and animal pens. A fire tender responding to a call was stoned and its windshield shattered, forcing fire fighters to retreat from the area. There was also a power outage in the area.<br />
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People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) activist, Joseph Hamilton, who was among several persons trapped in the house, denied to reporters that the building was being used as a polling station.<br />
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Hamilton said there were no ballot boxes in the building.<br />
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He explained that the house, owned by a People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) activist identified only as Kublall, is usually used by that party.<br />
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Earlier Monday, police asked the soldiers to assist with confidence-building patrols due to unease and tension in several area

Fiery election unrest in Sophia following allegation of bogus polling station

Several vehicles were burnt and a house, where Sophia residents alleged was a bogus polling station, was under threat. Police and soldie...

GECOM Chairman appeals for peace and tranquility

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Dr. Steve Surujbally Monday night appealed for calm and called on leaders of the major political parties to address the nation.<br />
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"Peace and tranquility must prevail," said Surujbally. He wants people who are milling around polling stations go home.<br />
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He said ballot boxes are of a lesser importance than the Statements of Poll which are produced after the votes already cast between 6 AM and 6 PM. ""Once the Statement of Poll is posted outside then the ballot boxes and contents are of historical relevance. There is nothing you can do to disrupt what has happened," he said.<br />
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The GECOM Chairman said he has already spoken with President Donald Ramotar who has promised to endorse his call for calm following the close of polls.<br />
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He said he was unable to make contact with Presidential Candidate for the coalition of A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change David Granger but has transmitted his sentiments through APNU Vice Chairman Dr Rupert Roopnaraine.