…GECOM to review operations

ONE week into the National Recount, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will, today, conduct a thorough review of the process. An important item on the agenda is the 25-day time-frame initially set for its execution.

With only 261 of the 2,339 ballot boxes counted to date – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) conceded, on Monday, that the 25-day period set by Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission was insufficient to facilitate the completion of the National Recount of the votes cast at the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

Ahead of the recount, the PPP/C had proposed that the process be conducted within a period of 10 days using some 20 workstations, but, on Monday, its Executive Member, Anil Nandlall, admitted that 25 days are simply not enough using the 10 workstations that are currently in operation.

“Based upon the pace at which we are proceeding, and you can work it out mathematically, it will not conclude within the 25-day period,” Nandlall told reporters outside of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) – the site for the National Recount. He proposed, however, that the number of workstations be increased from 10 – a recommendation the PPP/C intends to put forward when it meets with the Elections Commission today.

A New and United Guyana (ANUG) Representative, Kian Jabour, unequivocally supported an extension. “There is zero question about that, and I would challenge anyone to come out here and say that they are not in favour of extending the 25-day to ensure the process is credible,” Jabour told reporters. He noted that the duration should be a secondary issue once the transparency of the process continues. “We are extremely satisfied up to this point with the work that GECOM is doing in creating a credible and transparent recount process,” Jabour said while acknowledging that the country is awaiting a final declaration of the results for the General and Regional Elections.

The PPP/C has repeatedly lashed out at the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) over what it described as unnecessary observations and objections such as allegations of ghost voters, missing Official List of Electors and Affidavits. According to the PPP/C, those observations are meant to derail and drag on the process but Jabour said it is critical for GECOM to clarify concerns raised during the process to allow for transparent recount. “I appreciate the observation reports, in the sense that they show that people have objections, and I think that it is important for clarity and transparency but what I do have a problem with, is why is it happening now,” he said while noting that some of the observations could have been raised prior to the Elections.

Monday marked Day 6 of the National Recount, during which a total of 53 ballot boxes were counted – 15 from Region One (Barima-Waini), 11 from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 15 from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara and 12 from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
On Day One (May 6) a total of 25 ballot boxes were processed; the following day – May 7– another 40 were counted and May 8 (Day 3) 43. At the end of Day 4 – May 9 – another 49 ballot boxes were processed and by Day 5, an additional 51.

Were the Elections Commission to count a total of 50 ballot boxes a day, it would take approximately 47 days using the 10 workstations it has established, in keeping with the capacity of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre and the National Emergency Measures to prevent any possible spread of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

In his Operational Plan, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, had noted that it would take approximately two (2) hours to process and count the contents in a single ballot box – a proposal which did not receive the support of the PPP/C-nominated Commissioners – who in a counter proposal estimated the counting of ballots within a box would take one hour. However, based on official reports since the commencement of the National Recount, in some cases the teams operating at the workstations are taking as long as 3 hours 30 minutes to count the ballots in one box.
Today, when the Elections Commission meets, it will likely determine whether it will extend the timeline.

Assessment of recount
Aside from the pace at which the ballot boxes are being counted, the Elections Commission will be doing an assessment of the entire recount. “Not only will we be reviewing the number of days, we will be reviewing the process itself to see if we could do things quicker than it is presently being done,” Commissioner Alexander told reporters.

Since the commencement of the National Recount, the Elections Commission has been bombarded with a number of complaints including about the time allocated to tabulate the Statements of Recount at the Tabulation Centre, the cut off time for the extraction of ballot boxes from the Containers and the live streaming of the Observation Reports among others. GECOM, while operating from 08:00hrs to 19:00hrs at the Conference Centre, has ruled that the tabulation of Statements of Recount be conducted between 16:00hrs and 18:30hts; and that ballot boxes shall not be extracted from the containers no later than 17:00hrs – much to the dissatisfaction of the PPP/C. Further it has ruled that the Observations Report be read while being broadcast but this too did not find favour with the PPP/C. It is likely that these and other issues will be addressed when the Commission meets.

Meeting with small parties
Ahead of today’s meeting, the Elections Commission met with six of the small political parties on Monday, among them A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Citizenship Initiative and the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM).
GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward, noted that while no decision was made at the meeting with the political parties, their concerns are likely to come up for discussion when Justice (Ret’d) Singh meets with her Commissioners today. A variance in instruction given to various counting stations; the streamlining of the counting process to meet a timely conclusion; and the slothfulness of the tabulation process were among issues raised, in addition to clarification of the contents and information that are encompassed in a recount versus an election petition.

Weighing in on the meeting with the small parties, Commissioner Alexander, while describing it as cordial, noted that the parties were generally pleased with the smooth conduct of the recount. He said, however, that the parties recommended that decisions of the Commission be placed in writing and shared with the political parties to allow for a greater understanding of the recount process.

Security system
That aside, he said the parties were pleased with the security systems in place by the Guyana Police Force. “There was one other observation which was made and that is about the service of the police and that the police should be commended for the service being rendered and that’s important to note, because, on a previous occasion, there were those who were asking for the exclusion of the police or the inclusion of private security which at that time I considered to be an absurdity,” Alexander said. He too confirmed that the Elections Commission will be discussing issues raised by the small parties.
Meanwhile, the small parties also met with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) three-member scrutinizing team at the Conference Centre.