POLITICAL analyst and former Education Minister, Dr. Henry Jeffrey has stated that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) cannot logically present a legitimate winner without first taking into consideration illegalities arising from the recount process and, if credible evidence is produced that the process had been undermined at any stage, this cannot be dismissed.

In his weekly column, Future Notes, he called for a count only of votes that can be audited in the interest of democracy and transparency.

“I have argued that given the events on elections day, it is political grandstanding to fault the condemnations of local and foreign observers. However, the observers must also be aware that what occurred on elections day is only a small part of the elections process and that it cannot be dismissed out of hand, if at any stage credible evidence is produced that the process had been undermined,” he stated, adding:

“GECOM cannot logically present a legitimate winner without first taking into consideration the illegalities, etc., that the coalition claims to have unearthed, but the commission may well find that some of the issues raised by the coalition are matters for an elections petition, but that others need to be immediately factored into its final decision.”

A national recount of votes cast in the 2020 General and Regional Elections is currently ongoing at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). The APNU+AFC has pointed to a number of anomalies it believes can impact the outcome of the elections, but the main opposition party has stated that irregularities will be present in any well-scrutinised recount process.

The elections commission is still deliberating on how these anomalies will be dealt with and is divided on whether they should be addressed by the commission itself.

Dr. Jeffrey said that when it comes to the matter of voter fraud, Guyana is no stranger to understanding the concept. Giving a list of the various types, he noted: impersonation fraud at the polls; false registrations; duplicate voting; fraudulent use of absentee ballots; buying votes; illegal “assistance” at the polls; ineligible voting; altering the vote count and ballot- petition fraud.

Given that these still exist in a mature democracy such as the United States (U.S.), Dr. Jeffrey said that there is no reason Guyanese should believe that it is an impossibility for them.

He stated: “It might be unusual but this still holds true, even if the accusations come from those who had previously claimed to have won the elections. Not to follow such a course would be to allow a rigger that gets past the more visible stage of the process to get away scot-free.”

The analyst said that just like anti-doping rules in sports, if one has been found guilty of breaking the rules they should be prevented for lengthy periods from future participation; have their winnings taken away and even repay the rewards received from ‘winning.’

He also maintained that it is the duty of the state and its various arms to ensure that elections are free and fair and the electoral process “guarantee that every eligible individual is able to vote and that no one’s vote is stolen or diluted” by way of fictitious voting.