With the votes from 95% of the 2,339 ballot boxes from the March 2nd elections tabulated, the ongoing national recount show-ed the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) holding a lead of 14,317 votes over the incumbent APNU+AFC coalition at the end of yesterday.
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) tabulated 2,236 General Statements of Recount (SORs) and 2,229 Regional SORs up to the end of yesterday. Based on the general tabulation, the PPP/C had amassed 220,073, votes, compared with APNU+AFC’s 205,756 votes. After 93 more ballot boxes for Region Four were recounted, a mere 74 remain to conclude the counting process. With 12 stations counting, it is expected that all these boxes will be completed by 5 pm today, while the tabulation of the Statement of Recount (SORs) generated is likely to be completed on Monday.
The coalition has, however, objected to the inclusion of results from 29 boxes from the Vryheid’s Lust to Chateau Margot area since several “statutorily required documents” are missing from them. These account for over 5,000 votes, with the majority of them being cast in favour of the PPP/C.
It has been found that several of the boxes contain only ballots cast. Missing are the Official List of Electors for each polling station, the folio of registered electors, counterfoils for used and unused ballots, used ballot box seals and poll books among others.
APNU+AFC, in a letter to GECOM Chair Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, contended yesterday that in the absence of these documents “there is no way for the Commission to verify that the ballots were issued to the polling stations.”
“Consequently the validity of any count from [these boxes] are in question. Additionally, it cannot be substantiated that electors who cast ballot in these cases met the statutory requirements. In the circumstances the….ballot boxes should be set aside,” the letter concluded.
Party Agent Amna Ally, who signed the letter on behalf of campaign Co-Chair Joseph Harmon, reiterated the party’s call for an investigation and action in the matter and even suggested that the Guyana Police Force can be called on to help resolve the issue.
While the coalition is adamant that the votes from the boxes cannot be counted, the opposition, which counts the affected areas as part of its lower east coast stronghold, maintained otherwise.
‘Claims and counterclaims’
In a statement issued last evening, the PPP/C said that “not a single Guyanese elector must lose their franchise.”
“It is hoped that the Commission will address this matter satisfactorily in accordance with the purpose of the exercise, which is a recount of the ballots cast on 2nd March 2020, and consistent with the comment of the Chairperson at the commencement of this exercise: Every vote will be counted,” it said.
The party drew attention to a letter written to Justice Singh by one of the Deputy Returning Officers, Paul Jaisingh, who worked within the particular area.
In the letter, which was copied to all local and international observer groups, Jaisingh claimed to have been instructed by a Clerk to Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo “to include only unused, valid and rejected ballots in the ballot boxes.”
Jaisingh explained that he duly communicated this information to the respective Presiding Officers (POs), who complied and placed all the other documents in the bag provided.
“This instruction was given on Election day a few hours before the close of the poll. Other Deputy Returning Officers affected by this decision can confirm the same,” he claimed.
GECOM, however, has claimed that “a group of Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) who were responsible for clusters of Polling Stations on the East Coast of Demerara, Region 4 has submitted a signed statement to the Secretariat of the Guyana Elections Commission refuting allegations that the Clerk to the Region 4 Returning Officer instructed them to advise the Presiding Officers to not include the official documents in the ballot boxes at the close of poll.
In a statement released yesterday afternoon, GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward wrote that the DROs said in their statement that they were advised to “make regular checks to all stations ensuring that there was a smooth flow” and “to remind POs to ensure all statutory documents were in the ballot boxes.”
Sunday Stabroek requested a copy of the statement from the DROs as well as an explanation of the various sub-districts and polling clusters being supervised by these individuals but though Ward said she would “seek permission” to make this information available, up to press time nothing had been provided.
This newspaper reached out to various members of the Commission who said they had not been provided with copies of the DROs’ statement.
In fact, according to opposition-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj, there had been no meeting of the Commission yesterday. The last ad hoc meeting had been held on Friday, with two members from each side, Justice Singh and Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield.
At that meeting it was decided that the SORs prepared for the contentious ballot boxes should not be included in the tabulation and Lowenfield was asked to investigate the reasons why the documents were not included in the ballot boxes and to ascertain where the documents could be found. It was noted that subsequent to the meeting it was discovered that 28 of the 29 SORs from these boxes had already been tabulated and as a result Justice Singh decided that those results would be highlighted to differentiate them all the other results in the district.
GECOM, in a second statement, stressed “that none of the missing documents are in the possession of the CEO.” “The poll bags have been checked but the documents were not found,” it stressed.
The statement also noted that the CEO had also contacted some of the DROs responsible for those areas for a meeting to held yesterday but at 4 pm no DRO had showed up to be interviewed. “Efforts would be made to contact the Presiding Officers who were responsible for the respective polling stations,” the statement concluded.
It is not clear if the DROs who did not show up to be interviewed included any of the group who submitted a signed statement to the Commission refuting the claims of Jaisingh.
The Commission is scheduled to finally pronounce on the matter at a meeting scheduled for today at 10.30 am.
Gunraj has said that he believes the votes must be counted. “The electors did nothing wrong…they ought not to be disenfranchised by the acts or omissions of officials of GECOM,” he stressed.
