Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said today at an 11 am press conference that the winner of the 2011 General Elections will be declared tonight, provided that calls for a recount of some 73 boxes by a particular party “do not interfere with the planned schedule”.
It was also revealed that at 1 pm today a “limited number” of Region Four ballots will be recounted and this process should end by 6 pm. International and local observers have been informed about the recount but only the Organisation of American States (OAS) has indicated that it would have observers present at the exercise thus far. Both major opposition groups APNU and AFC have said that they would not participate in the process.
Surujbally told a news conference at the Gecom media centre that statements of polls are arriving and are being closely checked by officials. “This should end by this afternoon… This evening we should be totally finished and the CEO will give results,” he told reporters adding, “the timeliness of our report is being compromised by one political party calling for a recount.”
According to the law, a Returning Officer could refuse a request for a recount if they find it unreasonable, but Surujbally said that GECOM would accept all challenges without questioning whether they are justifiable. “We accepted it,” he said of the request for recounts, “We did not go into any debate about reasonableness nor would we ever. You make a challenge, we are prepared to answer that, in the interest of transparency and democracy.”
Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodoo, who was present at the news conference, also emphasised that there was no crisis on hand, while noting that observer missions are monitoring all activities and that extreme care is being exercised to declare full and proper results.
He reported that GECOM received over 90% of the statements of poll from all districts and is processing the results. He described it as a “tedious exercise,” which requires everything be “checked carefully.” He added that delayed statements of poll from regions 1, 7, 8, and 9 were received by late afternoon on Tuesday.
“People would say, we are waiting on the results, they are taking too long, but when you make something that is incorrect, you could imagine what is going to happen, so out of abundant caution we are taking the necessary care,” he said.
Surujbally said too that a ballot box seal found in the compound of the East Ruimveldt Secondary is not a cause for concern as all the ballot boxes from South Georgetown where the school is located had been checked and no seal was found to be missing. He explained that each ballot box had four to five seals and each party also affixed its own seal.
“I am sure there will be no discrepancies,” he said, adding that Gecom is not in the business of “cheating or rigging”. He urged all Guyanese to ignore the rumours and to remain patient while Gecom tabulates the figures.
Surujbally defended the integrity of the polling process, while saying that official elections results could be released this evening.
“I am assuring this nation, I am assuring the parties, that nothing untoward has happened,” Surujbally said.
In response to the allegation that the process was in crisis and could have been manipulated, Surujbally was adamant that this was not so. “The process is not anywhere near crisis, not anywhere near superficially in a crisis, we spelt it out,” he added, while reiterating that exactness would not be sacrificed for expediency.
