–GECOM Chair declares; tabulation time to be determined after consultation with COVID-19 Task Force

IN light of the growing threat from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) here, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh has decreed that there will be no more than 10 workstations during the execution of the National Recount at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

Justice Singh made her decision known in a letter to the six Elections Commissioners on Friday, explaining that the daily tabulation hours of the votes cast during the March 2020 General and Regional Elections will be decided on, upon the completion of consultations with the National COVID-19 Taskforce.

In a statement on Friday, GECOM Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward said that Justice Singh, in arriving at her decision, took into consideration the requirement for physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh has decided that there should be no more than ten 0) workstations, subject to the availability of the requisite equipment and technology to display the ballots,” Ward said.
Further to that, the GECOM Chair has decided that each workstation would tabulate its own results, and for security reasons, all the workstations should be located inside the ACCC building.

In arriving at her decision, Justice Singh not only took into consideration the COVID-19 Emergency Measures, but also the capacity of the Conference Centre and the proposals tabled by Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and Elections Commissioners Vincent Alexander, Desmond Trotman, Charles Corbin, Bibi Shadick, Sase Gunraj and Robeson Benn.

REVISED OPERATIONAL PLAN
In the CEO’s revised draft operational plan, he had proposed five (5) workstations, two more than he had initially recommended. In the case of Sase Gunraj, an Opposition- nominated Commissioner, he had proposed that there be 20 workstations, operating at a rate of one hour per ballot box. Government-nominated Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, in his proposal, recommended that there be eight (8) workstations, operating at a rate of two (2) hours per ballot box. There is a total of 2, 339 ballot boxes.

Commissioner Alexander, when contacted by the Guyana Chronicle, said the decision of the GECOM Chair must be respected. “That’s how a democracy works,” he posited.
On Thursday, in its communication with the Chair of GECOM, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) had expressed concerns about the large number of persons that would be required to execute the National Recount, should the Commission agree to the use of 20 workstations. Commissioner Alexander had repeatedly expressed similar concerns.
“This is a concern that I had raised on a number of occasions in making my own presentation, because the calculations show if we are to have 20 workstations, we would have somewhere in the vicinity of 300 persons assembling. And it is my humble opinion that in the context of COVID, you cannot have 300 people assembled in one place at this time,” Alexander told reporters on Thursday.

He had also objected to workstations being placed on the lawns of the ACCC as proposed by Commissioner Gunraj. “The contention, however, continues to be that in any of those circumstances, the large number of persons in the compound, to me, would defeat the whole question of how we are trying to deal with COVID-19. That apart, I maintain the position that 20 stations in the compound lends to the mob situation that we were disposed to at Ashmins, and we cannot repeat that; we have to learn from our experience. Therefore, what we have to use is the building, where we can have greater control in terms of who attends what,” Alexander reasoned. He iterated this position on Friday, while expressing satisfaction with the decision of the GECOM Chair, not to have any workstation on the outskirts of the ACCC building.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
However, Commissioner Gunraj, in reacting to the Chair’s decision, expressed disappointment that other critical issues were not addressed. According to him, Justice Singh’s statement has left many unanswered questions.

“The nation waited anxiously on the decision of the Chairman. The least everyone expected to hear was a commencement date for the recount. Alas, that was not to be had! Instead, there was an email that was scant on details, and created more uncertainty than to chart the course forward, perhaps to conclusion,” he told this newspaper.

Aside from the number of workstations, Gunraj said that there are a number of other issues that require the decision of the GECOM Chairman. These, he said, include the number of hours per day during which the recount will proceed; the live-streaming of the recount to ensure maximum transparency; and the extent of the recount.
“The decision on these issues, and several others, remain outstanding. All of this continue as GECOM seems content to drag this process and by extension, the anguish of the people of the nation, beyond the extent of its patience,” the Opposition- nominated Commissioner said.

However, in indicating the number of workstations that would be permitted, the GECOM Chair indicated that a letter was dispatched to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, in his capacity as Chairman of the National COVID-19 Taskforce. In her communication with the Prime Minister, Justice Singh made some specific requests relative to the proposed working hours, in light of the curfew, and for guidance on the occupancy of the Conference Centre.
“The Prime Minister has since indicated that an urgent meeting of the taskforce would be convened to discuss same and a response to the specific requests would be provided shortly,” Ward said.

According to her, the Elections Commission intends to conclude its deliberations within the shortest time, in order for the recount exercise to commence.