Attorney-at-law and Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, believes that the 100 plus legislative changes made in the last four years to strengthen Guyana’s electoral process will prevent a repeat of the March 2020 General and Regional Elections fiasco.
During an appearance on the Starting Point podcast aired on Sunday, Gunraj pointed to the restructuring of key electoral districts, especially District Four, where the main issues arose during the last elections.
“For example, District Four, which was the epicenter of the issues on the last occasion, it’s now broken into four sub-districts, the East Bank, the East Coast, North and South Georgetown,” he said.
He also noted that the same will be done in Regions Three and Six. “I believe, as well, that makes it less likely for a person with malintent to execute something of that nature, again,” the PPP GECOM Commissioner said.
Gunraj added that the public is now more informed about the election process following the election rigging controversies of 2020, which will help ensure greater transparency. He explained that the plethora of legislation that led up to and followed the 2020 elections made citizens who would be disinterested in such an operation, more acutely aware of some of the intricacies associated with the execution of an electoral process.
“In my mind, the benefit that accrues to the nation as a consequence is that the policing will be done. The policing will be done by those very citizens, those very electors, who, in my view, are the largest stakeholders in the electoral process,” Gunraj said.
Moreover, he also stressed the importance of election observers despite recent comments by opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander questioning their role.
He explained that observers do not only observe the polling day activities, but also pre and post-election day activities, which include the tabulation and final declaration of results.
Gunraj noted that observers are just one aspect of the electoral oversight, but underscored their importance. “In short, observers, whether, local or international are just another layer… they bring a different pair of eyes, a different set of eyes, different collection of expertise…” he added.
Following the last elections several charges were brought against former District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy Chief Election Officer Roxanne Myers among others for electoral fraud charges, in relation to their alleged attempt to rig the March 2020 elections. These matters are pending at the magistrate’s court.
