Dear Editor,
The use of private residences , places of worship as polling places must be opposed. International Observer missions, and other watchdog organizations, certainly provide a framework and standards for elections, but they cannot control the broader political processes that invariably affect the electoral process through rigging at the polling station in 2025.
Elections fraud is a socially and culturally embedded practice in Guyana. Since the 1997 elections rigging were planned and executed at polling stations in private residences , places of worship within certain strongholds which are less likely to be monitored by opposition party agents and poll observers. Opposition party agents did not turn up at private residence for the day due to the known political sympathies / affiliations of the owners. Some party agents did not turn up at polling stations in the compounds of places of worship because they were restricted from eating a meal containing pork.
Some Opposition party agents did not turn up at polling stations in the compounds of places of worship because they were restricted a meal containing fish, chicken , beef , etc. There were instances where the Opposition party agents left the polling station private residences , places of worship before the close of polls and some left after the polls were closed but before the ballot were counted citing reasons of having to travel , getting a meal because their party did not bring them lunch , etc.
Worthy of review is the 2020, 2023 is the voter turnout percentages in private residences , places of worship in Kitty North, Central and South Subryanville) and Three (Bel Air Gardens, Bel Air Springs, Prashad Nagar, North East and North West) . Recall that in the 2020 elections , 29 ballot boxes from polling stations in Montrose, La Bonne Intention (LBI), and Chateau Margot communities had missing statutory documents – the marked register of voters, counterfoils, folios, spoiled ballots, damaged ballots, and proxies. These have been big giveaways from 2020 and a warning for 2025.
You never get a 80% or 90% turnout in a credible election in Guyana. Even where the turnout is within the bounds of mathematical possibility, if the figure is wildly different from the turnout in private residences , places of worship within certain strongholds, it serves as a warning. Why have these particular polling stations at private residences , places of worship have a 90-95% turnout, while polling stations in public places registered less than 70%? Something strange was almost certainly going on, especially when the high turnout is an area which favors one party over another.
One possible explanation is that in the absence of opposition party agents , those who operated the polling station voted out the list in favor of one party and counted votes cast for other parties in favor of that one party and checked off on the official register. There were other, more subtle ways that riggers increase votes ‒ or reduced them. Keep an eye on the number of votes excluded as invalid. Even in countries with lower literacy rates than Guyana this isn’t normally above 3%. High numbers of invalid votes mean that those who operated the polling station are disqualifying ballots for the slightest imperfection, even when the voter’s intention is perfectly clear, in an attempt to suppress votes for Opposition parties.
Despite the challenges leading up to the March 2020 elections , GECOM has not shown any willingness for removing the names of those who have died, and over time the number of these non-existent voters increased. Every right thinking Guyanese must raise concerns about the size of the OLE at 757,690 when Guyana’s last census results from 2012 estimated the country’s total population as 746,955 people. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the population at 826,353 in 2023. A bloated list at each polling station coupled with the absence of opposition party agents and observers creates the perfect opportunity for rigging the 2025 elections.
Yours truly,
Davenrdra Persaud
