GECOM urged to issue results

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The OAS Electoral Observation Mission to the November 26 elections in Guyana said it considers it unfortunate that the smooth functioning of the process seen throughout Election Day was replaced by inefficient procedures and a lack of coordination in the processing and release of preliminary and final results. Noting that the Guyana Electoral Commission (GECOM) had not announced election results two days after the polls, the OAS said these delays can only undermine confidence in the electoral process and fuel speculation by interveners who may wish to take advantage of the situation. “It is unfortunate that, following a generally well administered election up to and including polling day the failure to ensure the timely dissemination of results may undermine the good work done thus far,” the observers said in their preliminary statement. “The OAS mission calls upon GECOM to work diligently to issue the results quickly and to address the operational procedures that led to the delay so that this matter can be avoided in the future.” The Observation Mission said among the recommendations it would present in its final report are several areas for improvement to future electoral processes. As a preliminary set of measures, the mission recommended working on several areas in order to reduce the potential for manipulation. These include enhancement of timely procedures for the electoral process, ensuring the chain of custody of electoral results, improved communications with stakeholders and strengthening the promotion of gender balanced participation throughout the electoral process.