As members of the Disciplined Forces voted today, leaders from the six political parties contesting the Elections said the voting process appeared without major incidents.
At the Guyana Police Force Officers’ Mess at Eve Leary, President Irfaan Ali told reporters that from his observation, there were no issues.
“From what I have seen it is a very smooth process, very efficient process. You could also see the notices, telling voters about the secrecy of the ballot. So, what I have seen this morning is a very smooth and efficient process,” President Ali told reporters.
During his visits to the polling places, Presidential Candidate for the APNU, Aubrey Norton said the voting process from observations was being conducted without any major issues.
However, he expressed concern over the presence of the Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken at various polling stations during the day.
“I heard that Hicken and company have been walking around to polling stations, which is not a legal practice. We will have to address that because you can’t be the Commissioner of Police and the head of the army and walking around. In fact, that is in some regard using your authority to kind of pressure people. Police men and so, should be allowed to vote without any of the senior persons being around. So, that’s one of my concerns but outside of that, we just want to ensure that there are free and fair elections, and that the law is followed,” he said.
He also complained that at some polling stations, there was not enough being done to ensure that electors were not using their cell phones to capture images of their ballots.
Further, he warned that should there be any attempt to rig the elections, there would be “serious consequences.”
Over at St. Stanislaus College, Forward Guyana Movement Presidential Candidate, Amanza Walton Desir said while voting was going well and there were no major complaints, the party was concerned that miscommunication on the part of GECOM had resulted in some party agents showing up at polling stations without their accreditation letters.
“We were told submitting the letters with the names of the persons would be sufficient, that there would be no badges or accreditation letters issued, so we are trying to get to the bottom of it. So, we are trying to get to the bottom of this miscommunication as well because I would hate for the public to think that parties did not issue accreditations as has been suggested,” said.
Walton-Desir said the party was pleased that it was able to field agents at the major polling stations.
Presidential Candidate for We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Azruddin Mohamed also visited the polling stations at St Stanislaus College. He told News Source that he was pleased with the conduct of the elections.
“So far the process is moving perfect, no complains. We have visited about six stations so far and we are pleased as of now,” Mohamed said.
Meanwhile, Alliance for Change (AFC) Presidential Candidate, Nigel Hughes visited polling stations at GDF’s Camp Stephenson and at the Timehri Police Stations. According to him, it was an uneventful day.
Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) Presidential Candidate, Simona Broomes said she too was satisfied with the process, and that at the time of the interview she had received no complain.
“My agent is okay, I had no complain from her as to this polling place here. I am doing the rounds, going around, checking at the other polling stations just to ensure, and observe what is happening, so we get a feel as to what to expect on the first,” Broomes said.
The majority of the leaders visited polling stations at the Police Officers Mess at Eve Leary, the Guyana Police Force Training Centre, Base Camp Ayanganna, and the Camp Street Prison Administrative Building.
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