The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Thursday reminded the public that the law prohibits obstruction, molestation and interference within 200 yards of a polling place as the country prepares for Disciplined Forces balloting tomorrow and General and Regional Elections on September 1.
Citing Section 78 of the Representation of the People Act, GECOM said, “No person shall anywhere within a distance of two hundred yards of a polling place annoy, molest or otherwise interfere with an elector or attempt to obtain any information as to the list of candidates for whom any elector in the polling place is about to vote or has voted either on his own behalf or as a proxy on behalf of another elector.”
The Commission noted that the prohibition is absolute and applies to everyone, without exceptions.
Section 78(A) provides that “any person who, without due authority, obstructs, or otherwise interferes with access to, or egress from a polling place, the voting at an election by any person registered as an elector…shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of sixty-five thousand dollars together with imprisonment for a term of one year …”
Additionally, Section 79(b) outlines who is entitled to be present at a polling place, polling station and at a count.
GECOM urged citizens to avoid committing election offences and said it remained confident of “free, fair, transparent and credible elections.”
