Tabulation of Reg. 4 SOPs suspended
The Guyana Elections Commission command center at the Ashmin's Building at High and Hadfield Street
The Guyana Elections Commission command center at the Ashmin's Building at High and Hadfield Street

– over objections to the use of spreadsheet

ONE day after the High Court ordered that the addition of Statements of Polls for Region 4 be resumed; the process has encountered another stumbling block resulting in a suspension.

In a statement this afternoon, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward said that the Returning Officer for Region #4, Clairmont Mingo, at 11:00hrs, recommenced the process of adding up the total votes cast per candidate in the General and Regional Elections. She said though Mingo’s actions are in keeping with the Chief Justice’s decision, there have been some objections.

“In compliance with the CJ’s orders and Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03, the RO using information from SOPs received by him directly from the Polling Stations has compiled a spreadsheet of the votes cast for each party. However, the methodology presented by the RO was not accepted by the stakeholders present,” Ward explained.

As a consequence, Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh intervened but explained that she is in receipt of an Order of Court and not the written judgment. Noting that the CJ’s admonitions are in the written judgment, Justice (Ret’d) Singh said she has been promised a copy of that document before the end of the day.

“In this regard, it was suggested that the process be discontinued and recommence when the Chairperson has received and studied the written judgment,” the PRO said.
According to Ward, the Commission will advise the stakeholders on the next steps as it continues to work assiduously to ensure full compliance with the Chief Justice’s decision and the fulfillment of its constitutional duties.

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