A member of the Forward Guyana Movement, and Prime Ministerial Candidate Nigel London Eliakim, has raised serious concerns about voter privacy and potential intimidation at a polling station earlier today.
While waiting in his car to assist someone in voting, Eliakim reported an encounter with a young woman from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). She inquired if the individual he brought was related to him and requested their name to “check it off her list.” When Eliakim questioned the relevance of her inquiry, she revealed that the list included specimen ballots and other materials.
“Doesn’t GECOM have that information inside? Aren’t there agents in there for that purpose?” Eliakim asked. The woman acknowledged that GECOM did have that information but insisted, “We need to know out here who voted.”
Eliakim expressed his concerns about the presence of makeshift tents outside polling stations, where party representatives collect voters’ names. He emphasized that this responsibility lies solely with GECOM and not with political parties.
“Voters are under no obligation to give their names to party representatives outside,” he stated. “Only GECOM officials inside the polling station have the legal right to verify identities.”
He further questioned why the PPP felt it necessary to have a large number of individuals outside polling stations, approaching voters as they arrived. “What’s happening outside feels less like voter mobilization and more like intimidation and intrusion into people’s privacy,” he concluded.
The incident has sparked discussions about the role of political parties during elections and the importance of maintaining voter confidentiality and safety at polling locations.
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