ON Tuesday (Day 28), votes within 93 ballot boxes were recounted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), bringing the total number of processed ballot boxes to 1,929. This means that there are 410 ballot boxes left to be processed by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as the recount of the votes cast at the March 2 General and Regional Elections comes to a close.

In providing a breakdown, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward, explained that of the 93 ballot boxes processed on Tuesday, 36 were from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), 34 were from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and 23 from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

There are 12 workstations established at the Conference Centre, and according to Ward, six have been assigned to Region Four – the country’s largest electoral block — while three each have been assigned to Regions Six and 10.

On Monday, Ward had said that the recount is likely to be completed well within its extended timeline – June 13.  “Looking at the rate we have been moving over the past few days, it means that it is likely that we will complete [the recount] within the new duration that we have,” she told reporters on the outskirts of the ACCC.

Notably, votes cast in seven of the 10 Electoral Districts have been recounted, and as such the focus now is on Regions Four, Six and 10.

All the votes from Region One (Barima-Waini), Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) have been recounted.

REGION ONE

Based on the votes recounted for Region One, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) secured 3,909 votes in the General Elections while the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) raked in 170, PPP/C 8002, People’s Republic Party 24 and the United Republican Party, six – a total number of 12,111 valid votes cast. According to statistics coming out of GECOM’s Tabulation Centre at the ACCC, there were 328 rejected ballots and 41 spoilt ballots.

In the Regional Elections, the APNU+AFC raked in 3,843 votes while LJP secured 144, the PPP/C, 7, 996 and the URP 77 votes. There were a total of 12, 060 valid votes cast by a total of 12, 440 persons who had presented themselves on March 2 to vote in Region One.

REGION TWO

Meanwhile in Region Two, the APNU+AFC secured 7,340 votes in the General Elections while the PPP/C raked in 18,785 votes. A New and United Guyana (ANUG) received 85 votes, while Change Guyana (CG) 151, LJP 121, PRP 57, The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) 18 and URP 64. In total, there were 26,621 valid votes cast.

For the Regional Elections, the APNU+AFC received 7,290 votes while its primary contender – the PPP/C – secured 18, 755. The smaller parties, Change Guyana (CG) raked in 216 votes while LJP secured 135 and URP 95. There was a total of 26,491 valid voters in the Regional Elections for Region Two.

REGION FIVE

In Region Five, there were a total of 33, 119 valid votes cast in the General Elections of which the APNU+AFC secured 14,502 based on the votes recounted and the PPP/C, 18,326. The remainder of the valid votes went to ANUG – 88, CG –100, PRP – 52, TCI – 22, TMN – 10 and URP – 19. Based on the tabulated figures by GECOM, there were 256 rejected ballots and 61 spoilt ballots.

In the Regional Elections for that Electoral District, there were 33,004 valid votes cast of which the PPP/C secured the highest number with 18, 286 followed by the APNU+AFC with 14, 472. The remainder of the valid votes went to CG – 127, PRP – 59 and URP – 60. There were a total of 374 rejected ballots in the Regional Elections for Region Five.

REGION SEVEN

In Cuyuni-Mazaruni District, the APNU+AFC secured the highest number of votes, securing some 4,813 votes while the PPP/C raked in 3,728 votes in the General Elections. ANUG secured 77 votes, while CG raked in 67, LJP – 884, and the URP – 23. There were a total of 9,592 valid votes cast while 164 were rejected.

For the Regional Elections in Region Seven, the APNU+AFC secured 4,839 votes while the PPP/C received 3,703 votes followed by LJP with 925 votes. URP secured some 62 votes. There were a total of 9,529 valid votes and 227 rejected ballots.

The NATIONAL RECOUNT commenced on May 6 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre after an Order was gazetted by the Chair of GECOM, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh. Initially, the recount was set for a period of 25 days, however, the Elections Commission, last Friday, amended the Order to facilitate the June 13 extension.