General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said strong actions are needed to deter persons from flouting election laws. And if any laws are broken, he said, there must be strong enforcement.
“I hope that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is vigilant and the Police too, because there are lots and lots of cases where we have seen this happening.
“They need to take strong enforcement action against people who transgress elections laws, including paying people for their vote because this is a crime,” Jagdeo said on Thursday during his weekly press conference.
Already, GECOM issued a statement reminding all candidates and citizens that offering or accepting inducements in return for votes is a criminal offence.
“Further, it is an offence for any person, directly or indirectly, to offer any money, gift, and/or a loan, to any voter to secure the vote of any voter at the elections,” the Commission stated.
GECOM warned that violators face a fine and up to six months’ imprisonment on summary conviction. Those convicted may also be barred from contesting future elections.
Earlier this week, GECOM decided not to require voters to surrender their mobile phones before casting their ballots. While the body agreed that photographing marked ballots is a prohibited act, it has opted not to implement a mandatory phone storage policy at polling stations.
GECOM reminded all stakeholders that they all have a statutory duty and civic responsibility to contribute to the elections being conducted in a free, fair, transparent, and credible manner.
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