The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has approved the names of 10 Returning Officers (ROs), and 10 Supernumerary Returning Officers for the sub-electoral divisions in Regions Three, Four and Six.

The names were approved on Tuesday during a meeting of the Elections Commission.

In keeping with the 2022 Amendments to the Representation of the People Act, there will be three electoral subdivisions in Regions Three – Essequibo Islands and River, St Lawrence to Cornelia Ida, and the Hague to Arabio Creek subdistricts, and another three sub-districts in Region Six – East Bank Berbice to Canje, Upper Corentyne and Lower Corentyne.

Region Four, the country’s largest electoral district, has a total of four subdistricts – East Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara, North Georgetown and South Georgetown.

Election Commissioner Vincent Alexander, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said that the Supernumerary Returning Officers will manage the sub-divisions as outlined in the Representation of the Peoples Act.

Alexander said the approval of the Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) and Deputy Supernumerary Returning Officer (SDRO) is pending.

“The approval of DROs, SDROs and other staff will be considered when the spreadsheets on those applicants are presented. The sheets should detail the bases for the recommended appointments,” Alexander explained.

A briefing for the candidates for the various positions is expected to take place tomorrow June 19.

Meanwhile, a number of issues remain unresolved, including the issue of voting by the incarcerated, Alexander said.

According to him, the Commission is awaiting advice from the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall. The Commission also continued discussion on the methodology for removal of the names of the dead from the Register of Registrants.

“The lists submitted by the GRO will be processed but advice is to be sought from the AG on the use of form 12 for the deletion of names submitted by the Commissioner of Police and the Chief Medical Officer. That was a consensus. I called for the immediate use of form 12,” Alexander said.

As the Commission hammers out these key issues, the Election Secretariat said it is conducting extensive training of polling day staff. Preparations for Nomination Day are well underway.

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