25 days for recount
GECOM Chair Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh
GECOM Chair Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh

…GECOM approves operational plan, draft order
…decision on commencement date pending

THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Friday, approved a 25-day operational plan and a draft order for the national recount of all votes cast at the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

Though the draft order has been agreed by the commission, a commencement date for the national recount, has not been set as the commission awaits word from the CARICOM Secretariat regarding a high-level CARICOM team to scrutinise the process. According to the approved operational plan, the national recount will take place at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) for a period of 25 days; however, the duration is subject to review. On a daily basis there will be 10 workstations operating for a period of 10 hours – from 08:00hrs to 18:00hrs. The plan also details the tabulation process and those who will be involved such as party agents, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) officials, observers and GECOM officials.

Deep satisfaction
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Chairperson of GECOM, Justice Claudette Singh expressed deep satisfaction with the progress made on Friday in finalising the operational plan and the draft order, but noted that it was no easy task, given the composition of the commission. “I am sitting on a very difficult commission, and people must appreciate that.

It is a very difficult commission; it is a highly divided commission and they don’t necessarily agree, and sometimes you have to take the bull by the horn,” Justice Singh told this newspaper. In addition to the chairperson, the commission comprises six commissioners – three nominated by the government and three nominated by the opposition, and at times discourses are not necessarily constructive and cordial. Nonetheless, Justice Singh said she is confident that the recount will be realised soon through a very transparent process.

Though the operational plan entails a 25-day duration for the recount to be executed, the GECOM Chair gave a reminder that the duration is subject to review. While iterating her commitment to the process, the GECOM Chair said once the recount commences, the workstations will operate every single day of the week, even on holidays, from 08:00hrs to 18:00hrs until the process is completed.

Elections Commissioner Vincent Alexander

Outside GECOM’s headquarters on High Street, Commissioner Vincent Alexander told reporters that the operational plan and draft order were approved by the commission after manoeuvring through 10 motions tabled by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) nominated commissioners.

Alexander, like the chairperson, was keen to note that the duration specified in the operational plan is not written in stone, as such, it is subject to review once the recount commences. “What we have decided is that we would start off with an anticipation of completion within 25 days but that will be subjected [sic] to review in the first week, based on the pace of work, and then we will have a finite time,” the government-nominated commissioner explained.

He said key in the plan is the tabulation process. According to the approved plan, the votes cast in District Four will be tabulated simultaneously with other districts. There are a total of 10 Electoral Districts. Of the 10 work stations, three will be assigned to District Four – the country’s largest electoral region. Importantly, Alexander noted that there will be one final declaration at the end of the tabulation process. “It was agreed that we will have one final declaration,” he posited.

DRAFT ORDER
On the issue of the draft order, Alexander said that though the order has been agreed, it does not include a commencement date. GECOM, he noted, is awaiting communication from CARICOM on the likely arrival date of its high-level team. It is expected that within days, the draft order will be shared with the CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, so as to provide CARICOM with a greater understanding of the process, and the role of the high-level delegation.

“Their Terms of Reference speaks to scrutinising the process, and submitting a report at the end of the process,” Alexander explained.

Questioned whether GECOM is prepared to proceed in the absence of the CARICOM officials, Alexander said the commission does not anticipate that CARICOM will not participate in the process, and has suggested that if, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the high-level team is unable to return, that CARICOM officials be selected from the CARICOM Secretariat here in Guyana. CARICOM’s intervention in the country’s electoral process was birthed out of an agreement between President David Granger and the Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, on March 14, to have a high-level CARICOM delegation oversee the process; however, the order does not include the Aide Memoire subsequently signed by the two leaders.

“The order does not mention the Aide Memoire but what the order does, is mention the fact that there was some CARICOM proposal,” Alexander clarified, while adding that “it is not a CARICOM-supervised recount; CARICOM is primarily being asked to scrutinise the activity.”
He further explained that unlike the first order, which was drafted days after the two leaders had agreed to the national recount, the draft order currently before the commission identifies GECOM as the sole institution responsible for supervision of the national recount in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana and the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

“Previously, the documentation had suggested that CARICOM “supervise,” and the documentation had suggested that this activity must be pegged on the Aide Memoire; the present order makes it clear that the activity is pegged on the fact that recounts had been rejected, recounts had been put in abeyance, and recounts had been aborted and this was leading to some kind of uncertainty about the way forward and so it was thought that it would be good to do an overall recount to overcome this problem,” Alexander explained.

He pointed out that in Districts Four and Three, recounts were requested but were refused by the Returning Officers, which had led to allegations of fraud. As such, the national recount will address any anomaly that may have occurred, and will result in a final declaration of the results of the March elections. Alexander is optimistic that by Monday the order will be gazzetted, paving the way for the national recount to commence.

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