By Nicole Telford – Parliamentarian and candidate for the People’s National Congress Islahat (PNCR) Congress, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, recently expressed his disapproval of the actions of Vincent Alexander, representative on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and Returning Officer for the PNCR Elections.
In a recent Demerara Waves publication, Alexander stated, “My process is to run an election. I am on target and the candidates with whom I met have no reservations about my process. They might have had other reservations, but they were not related to my process.”
However, Roysdale Forde, as a candidate for the various elections to be held, is disappointed that the party’s elections scheduled for Sunday, June 30, 2024, and overseen by Vincent Alexander as the “Returning Officer,” are riddled with inconsistencies. Forde further explained, “It is mind-boggling and totally perplexing that you, in your office of Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission, at a national election, would restrict your responsibility to the counting of ballots and related matters while relinquishing any oversight in respect of the core matters which impinge on the credibility and transparency of the creation of the list of voters and their eligibility.”
This comes after Forde contends that some infractions were clearly highlighted via some 15 letters and meetings held by party officials, which included allegations that the Preliminary List of Delegates was not submitted to the General Secretary by the deadline of Monday, June 24, 2024. However, Alexander stated that Mr. Sherwin Benjamin had requested an extension to complete this task. Forde, not in possession of either the Preliminary or Final List of Delegates, nor are many party groups across the country, alleged that the entire process is heavily compromised and will not yield a transparent, fair, and credible outcome. He said this situation would bring irreparable damage to the image and members of the PNCR in the eyes of the public.
Forde finds Vincent Alexander’s decision to proceed with supervising the elections without taking responsibility for ensuring the credibility of the results to be alarming.