PRONOUNCEMENTS by the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Dr Steve Surujbally himself, belie contradictions that the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) wasted no time in exposing.“We have been frustrated; more than 200,000 people voted for the PPP/C and they deserve to have their votes counted…the PPP/C has more than 200,000 people that we represent and we speak for them. We want their X’s counted, period!” said PPP/C member, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, at a news conference at Freedom House last night.
Dr Surujbally, in a comment to a local online news site said, “All of the 21 boxes taken into evidence that they said the numbers have changed, they in fact had not changed. The PPP SoPs (Statements of Polls) that they presented us with- when we checked the official SOPs- they were exactly the same, an exact replica.
“…all of these 21 boxes, the PPP’s SoPs are identical with the GECOM SoPs and what they have there as purportedly GECOM SoPs with this great difference I cannot tell you where they got them from.”
The named boxes are: 4216, 4223, 4237, 4266, 4267, 4279, 4287, 4292, 4323, 4352, 4358, 4359, 4385, 4392, 4643, 4644, 4656, 4701, 4703, 4707 and 4723.
“If now for those polling stations, Dr Surujbally is saying that at least for the 22 SoPs that we gave him that they are exactly the same with what they have at GECOM, we ask then how come your DROs have SoPs that are different. We are supposed to have the same SoPs for the all the polling stations,” Dr Ramsammy said.
The PPP/C charged that PPP/C counting agents have evidence to show that, while the GECOM Chairman claims that the PPP/C and GECOM SoPs are the same, the Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) have different numbers.
On that basis, the PPP/C is now questioning what numbers were counted and used to produce preliminary results that put the political opposition in the lead with over 5,000 votes.
He said, “We requested that the spreadsheet of the 2,299 boxes that have been used to calculate the results of the 2015 elections be published so we can do a 100 per cent comparison of the numbers used to calculate the elections results with our SoPs…those are SoPs that are signed by the Presiding Office and the Polling Agents.”
The PPP/C member questioned the purpose of using different numbers. “For what purpose? The DRO’s SoPs cannot be different from the SoPs that Mr Lowenfield is using. It cannot be different…since our counting agents sat with the DROs and confirmed that their numbers are different, we have now confirmed from GECOM’s own presentation that GECOM and their DROs have different SoPs. How come?”
He stressed that the tabulations, box by box, must be disclosed. “These are not unreasonable requests and since it is about the will of the people, what is the haste? It would not take us long. Tonight we can do it in a few hours.”
According to him, the PPP/C has lost enough votes that would have changed the outcome of the election results. “You cannot insult the Guyanese people like that,” Dr Ramsammy declared.
NOTHING TO LOSE
Meanwhile, another party member, Charles Ramson Jr, charged collusion and fault on the part of GECOM, adding that the party’s concern is that GECOM was infiltrated, despite assurances that this was not going to happen.
He stated that if GECOM has nothing to hide and is certain of the integrity of the results announced, then it will have no problem in granting the PPP/C request for a recount.
Ramson Jr contends that the integrity of the process, as well as the machinery of GECOM and its leadership, is what is at stake. “We want the real results,” he said.
Also present at the news conference were party members who acted as counting agents for the party, including, Mr Dharamkumar Seeraj, Mr Neil Kumar and Mr Omar Sharif.

By Vanessa Narine