AFFIDAVIT – Statement by PPP Polling Agent Hemwant Persaud – 1985 Elections – Appendix K

I, HEMWANT PERSAUD of 12 Reliance, Essequibo Coast, being duly sworn make oath and state as follows:

1. I was elected Assistant Elections Agent for the Democratic Labour Movement in Region 2, for the December 9^th, 1985 elections.
2. There were numerous cases of voters who could not vote because their I.D number did not correspond with that on the preliminary electoral list, or because there were slight differences in the spelling of names.
3. I lodged an official complaint to the Returning Officer, Mr. A. Owen, at his office in Anna Regina and he sent a Mr. Greene with me to clarify and settle the matter. Mr. Greene and another Mr. Davidson helped to convince the Presiding Officer that there was no legitimate reason why he shouldn’t allow the brothers concerned to vote.
4. After the brothers voted, Mr. Greene and Mr. Davidson left the polling station. The Presiding Officer asked me to leave the polling station. He further remarked that I was campaigning in the polling station, (which I wasn’t doing).
5. The car that I travelled with to lodge my complaints at the Returning Officer’s office was thoroughly searched by the police and the driver was warned that if he knew what was good for himself he should go home and park his car. The police further warned that he was searching the car because he (the driver) was transporting opposition activists.
6. Our polling agent assigned to St. John’s Primary School was ejected from the Polling Station for about two hours without any explanation and re-admitted after the PPP and WPA polling agents made note of the incident and called upon the PNC polling agent to follow suit. A complaint concerning this matter was lodged with returning officer. He promised to look into the matter.
7. One election official of Region 2 was registered twice on the preliminary voters list.
8. After polling closed the Presiding Officer took the ballot boxes along with members of the armed forces who pointed guns at our agents.
9. Counting agent for DLM, Raymond Gill and myself rushed to the Returning Officer after this scene to find out what was the position concerning the accompanying of ballot boxes by opposition forces. We further pointed out that the Chronicle dated 8/12/85 stated clearly that opposition agents will be allowed to accompany ballot boxes in accordance with the Representation of the People Act. His reply was that he does not control the armed forces and cannot do anything about it.
10. Brother Raymond Gill and myself told the Returning Officer that we were instructed to stay with the ballot boxes until counting started. He replied, counting will be started at 11 o’clock and we can go to the counting centre at that time. We waited until 11:45 before counting started. In explaining the late start of counting, Mr. Owen’s excuse was that there was a mix up of the returns and boxes.
11. As Elections Agent I visited various polling stations and observed that the ballot boxes were neatly built of a whitish colour wood, while those at the counting centre were made of a roughly build brownish colour wood, most of which were not even plained. At Anna Regina Community High School, there were two neatly built white boxes numbered 079,080. The boxes appearing at the counting centre were roughly built brown boxes.
12. The Counting Agent for the Elections Commission broke the lock of the ballot boxes that the armed forces used at the Suddie Police Station, after he could not find the right keys.
13. AND further I say not.

H. Persaud.

Deponent

Sworn to at Georgetown, Guyana on this 5 day of January, 1986.