As the recount of votes from the March 2nd general elections crawls along it must not be forgotten that what should have been an orderly process with a result within two or three days was obscenely overturned by the Returning Officer for District Four, Clairmont Mingo when he introduced numbers from a spreadsheet which were pure fiction.
Up to that point, half of the District Four results had been transparently tabulated using the mandatory Statements of Poll (SoPs) and it had apparently become clear to Mr Mingo and conspirators from APNU+AFC and GECOM that the result did not favour the incumbent and some plan had to be put in place to rig. To label it as Plan B would be to do the greatest disservice to that letter and to those who professionally plan for alternative scenarios. The figures on the Mingo spreadsheet constitute the crudest and most vulgar attempt the country has ever seen to rig elections and to defraud the people of their right to choose.
Naturally, this prurient attempt on March 5th to steal votes was immediately recognised and countered by party agents and representatives at the District Four office who lustily tried to shout down Mr Mingo’s abominable declaration. Understandably, recourse was then sought to the courts for an injunction to prevent a final declaration of results as it appeared that the Mingo declaration would be utilised. That sortie to the High Court helped to stave off the pernicious attempt to illegally swear in the incumbent, David Granger but it didn’t mean that the riggers were dissuaded. It would be another two months before the forces battling to save the country’s democracy were able to see tangible process via a recount of all 10 districts.
That a recount of all the votes from March 2nd began on May 6th was an important development even if excessive as only District Four needed to be tabulated as the other nine districts had been processed and declared to the satisfaction of all. However, in his capacity as Opposition Leader, Mr Bharrat Jagdeo had given a commitment to CARICOM that all the regions would be recounted and that has led to this tedious and nerve-racking recount which APNU+AFC is now trying to taint with all manner of unfounded allegations which are not only illogical but also without an evidential basis.
As the halfway point of the ballot box recounting nears, the moment of truth approaches for the GECOM Chair Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh. That the country is without a verified election result 84 days after elections is primarily her fault. She either has no will to assert herself at key moments or she has turned a blind eye while the elections riggers have run amok at the Ashmins building, GECOM and everywhere else possible. Why she did not intervene on March 5th to cut off Mr Mingo’s fraudulent first declaration but remained ensconced incommunicado in a room in the Ashmins building will be one of the lasting mysteries of the 2020 elections fiasco. Her disinterest was repeated when Mr Mingo made a second infamous declaration on the night of March 13 at the GECOM headquarters in Kingston having duplicated the same indignities despite attending on that same day a contempt of court hearing before Chief Justice George in which he was admonished to present the SoPs for full viewing by all parties.
The GECOM Chair is now left with key responsibilities prior to the conclusion of the recount. First, as we have said before the recount must be concluded rapidly. Ms Singh cannot claim to be unaware that there is a feverish plot to rig the general elections in favour of APNU+AFC. There is no prospect of claiming ignorance of this since the head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) observer mission here, former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding presented evidence of this earlier this month to a Permanent Council meeting of the OAS. Given her career-long dependence on evidence in making decisions, Ms Singh can easily examine for herself the SoPs, the Statements of Recount and Mr Mingo’s “figures” to determine the truth for herself. The point is that any undue attenuation of the recount period will give more time to the plotters to take even more drastic measures to overturn the electoral process. GECOM has committed to a 25-day process and Ms Singh must do her utmost to adhere to this even if it means extending hours of work and adding two more work stations at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). In retrospect, given the 25-day timeframe, the recount should have utilised both the ACCC and the nearby National Aquatic Centre.
Second, the spurious claims that have been tabled by APNU+AFC and its agents have no place in a recount and aside from their lack of heft they run counter to the original claims by the incumbent that they had won a fairly run election and Mr Granger should be sworn in for a second term. APNU+AFC is gambling on every possible option no matter how it erodes democracy and the laws governing elections. What happened at polling stations on March 2nd, 2020 was legitimately concluded in accordance with the Representation of the People Act as manifested in signed SoPs and can only be inquired into in the presence of the respective Presiding Officers and that has no place in a recount of votes cast at the election. This would no doubt be patently clear to Ms Singh.
When the properly concluded and recorded recount result is presented to GECOM for final certification, Ms Singh has no recourse to the discredited Mingo tally of March 13. Her proceeding to the recount is an automatic repudiation of the Mingo contrivance and her only task then will be to pronounce the winner of the election. Getting to that point faces formidable obstacles 19 days into the 25-day recount period. Ms Singh must show recognition of the urgency to act and to uphold electoral democracy. That was the mandate entrusted to her when she became GECOM Chair and that is what she will be judged by.
