While maintaining that the provision of security at the various polling places is a matter for the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) have requested that emphasis be placed on polling stations that had security issues in the past. This is according to Opposition-nominated Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, yesterday afternoon.
The Commissioner said that the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, has been asked to “place some attention” on those polling places. However, he could not, at the time, say which polling stations will be subject to such arrangements.
“I don’t have a list of those places, but the media has, in fact, reported on those issues in the past. So, you should have a list of those,” he said.
Lowenfield told the media on February 4, that there are 2,352 polling station inclusive of 131 private residences.
He said that most of the polling stations that are private residences are in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica), particularly along the East Coast Demerara Corridor. There are 91 such stations, he noted.
GECOM recently took a decision to cut back on the number of private residences being used as polling stations. This has, however, led to some concerns being raised about voter accessibility.
Lowenfield has been briefed on the matter, and has given his assurance that he will resolve the issue in a timely manner.
