THE coalition’s objections to several names being on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) were thrown out by the Guyana Elections Commission, but the party representative in the area, Carol Joseph, said this was done in the absence of any representation by the APNU+AFC accredited scrutineer.

The Returning Officer of Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM’s) office at Mahaicony, on Saturday last, was reported to have rejected APNU/AFC objections to over 535 names being on the voters’ list in the Abary/Mahaica Sub Region of Region 5. A local newspaper reporting this development claimed that the rejection brought the total number of rejections to 13,000 due to “unsubstantiated objections” made by the APNU AFC in Region Five. Joseph said on Monday that she has formally appealed the dismissals of the APNU AFC objections by the GECOM Returning Officer at Mahaicony.

She said that Statutory Notice for the commencement of the public inquiry was not given in conformity with the requirements. “The statutory notice for the hearings on Saturday last was not given, delivered or received by herself as the objector.”

“Standard procedures and arrangements reasonably expected for the conduct of such hearings were breached, not observed and/or were conducted in a manner which conveyed the impression of pre-determination bias or the lack of impartiality and fairness in the proceedings,” she said.

Ms. Joseph reiterated to Guyana Chronicle: “I was not informed. I was totally unaware of the decision of the RO to proceed with the public enquiries. He had the responsibility to inform me about the imminence of these proceedings at least three days before. He did not. He did not adhere to what is considered to be the proper procedure. He went ahead and held the enquiries and made decisions about the APNU/AFC objections, completely and totally in my absence as the accredited scrutineer.”

The appeal is to be considered by the Chief Executive Officer of GECOM. Ms. Joseph said that The APNU/AFC had objected to a total of 13,000- odd names being on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) in Region 5 namely 3,611 in Abary /Mahaica sub-region 1 and 1,044 in Abary Berbice in Sub Region 2

Ms Joseph said that she wants the appeal to be resolved as quickly as possible, since she can, and will, defend the APNU/AFC’s objections, once the  legal procedures are re-established.