-returning officer Harmon
An eight-page document on the conduct of the recent elections for the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) executive was yesterday handed over to General Secretary Oscar Clarke and Returning Officer Joseph Harmon said if at any point he had detected significant irregularities he would have called off the elections.
Opposition Leader Robert Corbin on Monday refused to make any further comments about the election which last week he labelled as transparent, saying that he was awaiting the revelation of the returning officer’s report.
Corbin told Stabroek News that he did not want to be diverted on issues of the past, when questioned about whether there would be any efforts to address concerns still being raised about the process by the Richard Van West Charles campaign.
Following Corbin’s comments on the electoral process, Dr Van West Charles in a statement to the media expressed concern saying that coming after the exposure of a plethora of irregularities concerning membership applications, registration and voting processes, they are seen as an attempt to taunt and gloat. He also rejected Corbin’s comments saying that the party was hijacked again through an illegal process by personal agendas.
He charged too that the process was fraudulent from membership registration to voting and further stated that a report was being prepared for submission to the party’s secretariat.
PNCR Chief Whip Lance Carberry who chaired the accreditation committee said yesterday that as far as he knew the Van West Charles faction had not submitted any formal complaint or report on their concerns.
However speaking with Stabroek News yesterday Harmon who was also the returning officer at the last Biennial Congress where concerns of fraudulent elections also abounded, admitted that there were a few issues prior to the start of the five-hour delayed elections but they were ironed out.
“To say that the process was fraudulent is a total misrepresentation and so I am surprised at the statements coming from Mr Van West Charles,” Harmon emphasized.
He insisted that he was not prepared to go through with or allow any slack system and so if at any point he had realized significant irregularities, he would have called off the elections.
He disclosed that he had submitted his report yesterday to the party which chronicled the action he took since being appointed to take charge of the electoral process. He pointed to his meeting with delegates together with observers, the questions raised in the press and the action he took to allay the fears of the party as some of the issues covered in his report.
Five-hour delay
He explained that the elections had started five hours after its scheduled time because he spent the time sitting with delegates and those involved in the process along with those who were responsible for record keeping to ensure that before the start, steps were taken to ensure a clean list.
Harmon said he has listened to and read of the reports about irregularities but said he was involved in the electoral process before and was aware of the steps which are usually followed to ensure transparency. He pointed out that at this election much more was done in this regard.
Harmon said he had confidence when it came to the steps taken after he was appointed which included controlling the ballots, issuing them, doing the roll call, and the actual voting which included the use of transparent ballot boxes for the first time.
He said the ballot offices were manned by persons with no affiliation to the parties and when the voting was completed, the ballots were counted in full view of the delegates. Harmon said as each ballot was counted the name of the person in whose favour it was, was called out.
He said the ballots were kept secured while the delegates were entitled to appoint persons to look into their interests.
Harmon said that in his report he made reference to two separate incidents at one of the ballot stations where some persons who had voted before tried to cast votes again but this was sorted out.
He indicated that there was a clear division between the delegates, causing people to place a sharp eye on each other.
“So the claim of fraud is inaccurate at least from my standpoint because persons were looking at each other like hawks,” he said.
He added that both delegates had gone to him with lists of persons who apparently could not find their names on the lists, but according to him this was done only after he had already done the roll call and so the lists of persons had to be ignored.
Harmon told this newspaper that 1,270 persons could have voted on that day and of that number only 841 did, and for the position of leader 614 were in favour of Corbin and 223 in favour of Winston Murray with the remainder being spoilt ballots.
Meanwhile Harmon also ruled out the possibility of multiple voting due to the level of scrutiny.
He recalled too that both candidates were satisfied and the process started following their expression in this regard. He recollected too that at one point there was a lot of noise and some confusion at the back of the auditorium and both candidates were called upon to speak to their supporters and to keep the peace.
Harmon did not release the report but directed this newspaper to the party and restated his level of disappointment at some of the statements being made about the electoral process.
Van West Charles had backed Murray for the candidacy and in a joint statement issued at the weekend they expressed appreciation for words of encouragement and quiet support of the many Guyanese who were hopeful of change at the recently-concluded congress.
The two also said that they were reflecting on the situation and indicated their commitment to keeping the flame of hope alive for change, and giving Guyanese a true feeling and sense of a new beginning.
Murray had accepted his defeat and had demurred on the question of his own future, adding that he did not want to sound like a sore loser since, “As of now I remain a member of the PNCR, and as of now, I remain a Member of Parliament and I will have to take time to contemplate [my political future], it is not something I would be rushed into,” he said, adding later, “I have to allow some time to pass, let the dust settle and then determine where I go.”
He had thanked his supporters for their work, saying, “I really, really appreciate it but we didn’t pull it off,” while they thanked him for his candidacy and his conduct throughout the process.
Harmon, speaking with Stabroek News yesterday, said in the document he chronicled all his activities and procedures.
Last week Corbin ruled out that the possibility of multiple voting at the party polls and though the overall process was said to be tainted with irregularities from its inception, Corbin said new procedures had created bottlenecks but all concerns were adequately addressed.
He also assured that both leadership candidates had scrutineers and delegates themselves were able to make observations which showed that the process was open and transparent.
Since their election, the new executive of the party is yet to have a meeting with the press. The party has also not yet issued any official statement regarding its congress or a report on its successes.
As a participant in the process as well as a candidate, Corbin told Stabroek News on Tuesday, he could not see how multiple voting was possible since both leadership candidates had scrutineers. He said he had only one, while Murray had seven. “The delegates themselves were making their own observation and objections along the way which shows that the process was open and transparent,” he declared.
He said nothing was done in secret, from the roll call to the casting of votes and the counting of votes. The latter, he said, was done on the stage of the auditorium in full view of all.
However, Corbin noted that prior to the commencement of the elections, Returning Officer Harmon held a meeting with both candidates in the presence of their scrutineers and General Secretary Clarke. He explained that both candidates raised issues, some of which were addressed. He added that there were still a few outstanding matters. He mentioned the case of a group of about 20 persons who were not accredited and no one could say whether they would have voted. He said at that stage, it was agreed that registration would be closed and the election would begin. Corbin also noted that there were some persons who spoke of their names not being on the list.
‘Bottlenecks’
Corbin admitted that there were a few “bottlenecks” in the registration, which he blamed on the elaborate demands of those who wanted a new system and processes not used in the history of the party.
To suggest that this bottleneck in registration concerning unsubstantiated claims amount to irregularities and fraud, he asserted, is a stretch of the imagination, particularly for anyone knowledgeable of the procedures for the holding of the elections. Nevertheless, he said he is awaiting the report of the returning officer, who was responsible for managing the polls as well as the independent observers who were identified to oversee the process.
Meanwhile, Corbin emphasised that he is concentrating on the task of building a united party that is re-energised and mobilised to deal with the problems affecting the people.