Griffith promises EBC strong police presence on election day

Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith. -
Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith. -

COMMISSIONER of Police Gary Griffith has told Chief Elections Officer Fern Narcis-Scope that there will be a strong and visible police presence across the country on the day of the general election.

Speaking on Tuesday during his meeting with Narcis-Scope and deputy Chief Elections Officer Lena Sahadeo at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, Griffith said this visible police presence is aimed at deterring intimidation, voter suppression, bribery and/or illegal canvassing on election day, August 10.

The meeting, which was also attended by Deputy Commissioner of Police Jayson Forde, was held to give an opportunity for the two Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) officials to speak with Griffith about the role and responsibilities of the police in ensuring a free and fair general election.

Among the responsibilities of police will be providing security for EBC offices and sites and escorting election paraphernalia to be used by officials on election day.

Both Narcis-Scope and Sahadeo impressed on the top cop the need for police to assist election officials in ensuring citizens wear  masks and carry out proper hygiene practices on entering polling stations.

Griffith, a police release said, will be overseeing election day police operations from the commissioner’s command centre and there will be an open line of communication between him and EBC officials at all times in the event of any untoward incident which needs to be dealt with.

He also said Emergency Response Patrol vehicles equipped with dashboard cameras will be deployed to large polling stations and provide the command centre with real-time video footage of the activities at these locations.

The commissioner and EBC officials are expected to meet again in the coming weeks, as they continue collaborating to help ensure a smooth and incident-free  election.

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