…important task of validating votes, study of observation report to begin

THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), on Sunday completed the national recount of ballots cast at the 2020 General and Regional Elections with the tabulation process of said ballots likely to be completed today.

Sunday saw the completion of recount of the remaining 74 ballot boxes adding to a total of 2, 339. Meanwhile, the tabulation process was pegged on Sunday at 2,325 for the general elections and 2,244 for regional.

When the tabulation is completed, the results will not be declared just yet. Based on the Order which legally triggered the recount, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield must next submit a report of the recount to the commission. In accordance with the amended order, this report must be submitted no later than June 13.

The report will include a summary of the observation reports for each district. It is in these observation reports that the APNU+AFC, primarily, has highlighted over 6,000 cases which it believes are tied to electoral fraud.

These cases include: missing Official Lists of Electors, ballots for one region cast in another; ballots cast for the dead and persons who have migrated; persons voting without proper identification; persons voting outside of their districts without employment documents; large numbers of improperly stamped ballots at locations where disciplined services members voted; missing poll books and documents from one polling station being found in the ballot boxes of another.

It is also expected that the three-member CARICOM scrutinising team will present a report pertaining to their observations, recommendations and conclusions to the commission.

When the said reports are received by the commission, it will then deliberate on them and how they will be treated before a decision is made on whether the said data should be used or before a final declaration is made.

The amended Order states: “The commission shall, after deliberating on the report at Paragraph 12, determine whether it should request the chief election officer to use the data compiled in accordance with Paragraph 12 as the basis for the submission of a report under Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, Cap 1:03, provided that the commission shall, no later than three (3) days after receiving the report, make the declaration of the results of the final credible count of the elections held on the 2nd day of March 2020.”

There is already division amongst government-nominated and opposition-nominated commissioners with regard to what should be done about the claimed and observed irregularities. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has argued that every election will produce margins of error and the ones discovered by the coalition are minimal. However, the APNU+AFC contends that there are “clearly linked” patterns amongst the irregularities which invalidated votes cast for the party. It is also steadfast in the position that fraudulent votes cannot be counted and that GECOM has the responsibility to deliver credible results to the electorate.

The last recital of the Order provides that the conduct of the recount process is for the purpose of “…the reconciliation of the ballots issued with the ballots cast, destroyed, spoiled, stamped, and as deemed necessary, their counterfoils/ stubs; authenticity of the ballots and the number of voters listed and crossed out as having voted; the number of votes cast without ID cards; the number of proxies issued and the number utilised; statistical anomalies; occurrences recorded in the Poll Book”.

Even so, citizens will only know of the commission’s decisions on how it will treat with the matters highlighted in the summary of the observation reports to be presented within the CEO’s report following the deliberations.

Once the report is deliberated upon, it will determine whether the CEO should use the data to compile a final report for the declaration of the results by GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh.

The national recount, which commenced on May 6, 2020, is being executed under Article 162 of the Constitution, and Section 22 of the Elections Law (Amendment) Act under the supervision of the elections commission, based on an agreement reached between President David Granger and Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo following the intervention of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

President David Granger, while maintaining that he will accept the results of the General and Regional Elections as declared by the commission, has stated that, from all indication, the electoral process was manipulated as he pointed to the countless irregularities unearthed.

“Everyone is aware of numerous reports of irregularities including unstamped ballots, deceased and migrant voters and missing poll books. Those irregularities appear to have been committed intentionally, not accidentally, and demonstrate a pattern of manipulation of the electoral process,” he said in an address to the nation on Saturday.

Even so, the Head of State has also iterated: “…I shall accept the declaration of the results by the Elections Commission, which will allow for a democratically elected government to be sworn-in to office. I am committed to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. I respect the integrity and autonomous nature of the Elections Commission. I will abide by the declarations of the Elections Commission as I have abided by the rulings of the Court.”