…claims he walked off job, left them at the GECOM Mabaruma Office
THE absence of the poll books from the records for District One has stalled the verification process of the recount of the votes cast in that region at the March 2, 2020 regional and general elections.
Initial reports were that the books were in the possession of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Returning Officer for Region One, Trevor Harris. But Harris has claimed that he left the books in the GECOM office at Mabaruma and that he was no longer on the job.
The book details the voting process, the number of used and spoilt ballots, signatures of counting and polling agents as well as those of the presiding officer, ballot clerks among other polling staff. The book also details the time process recorded throughout elections day at the polling station. It also includes details on affidavits of identity of persons accompanying a voter to the polling station to assist him/her in the voting process.
Harris’ phone went to voice mail when attempts were made by the Guyana Chronicle to contact him. He however, told another section of the media, earlier on Wednesday, that he is no longer on the job and declined to say when he parted with the commission. The official noted that the books in question are at GECOM’s Mabaruma office, and, on Wednesday, the commission was making arrangements to retrieve the documents from the North West District region.
Books located
“We have since made arrangements to have those poll books be transported to Georgetown from Region One, and we hope that they will get here by tomorrow or by Friday when there is a flight out from that area,” GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward told reporters while noting that already one has been reported missing.
Ward noted that as a result of the absence of the poll books, party agents objected to the continuation of that process with respect to the tabulation of votes for District One. The Poll Books, she said, contain critical information about what unfolded on Elections Day within the polling stations. “The poll books provide the notes of the Presiding Officers as to what would have transpired during the electoral process on Elections Day.
For example, if persons voted with certificates of employment, the number of persons that voted with certificates of employment, persons who voted by proxy, the poll books give those details and all of the issues that may have been addressed at the polling station, it is essentially the log book of the day’s activities,” the PRO explained.
Investigation
While noting that she was unaware of the reason behind the RO’s failure to include the Poll Books in the records, Ward said that the Elections Commission will be launching an investigation into the matter.
Elections Commissioner Vincent Alexander also took note of the absence of the poll books. “Those books are important, because, for example, there were instances where names were inserted on the voters’ list,” Alexander said while explaining that the poll books would provide explanations on the reason behind the insertions. One such reason, he said, is the use of certificates of employment by persons whose names were not on the list but were given the opportunity to vote by virtue of the fact that they were working there at the moment.
“That Certificate of Employment is in the Poll Book and the Poll Book should have been in the box, and so there are still some queries there about the names because the validation has not been completed,” the Elections Commissioner said. He is hopeful that the poll books will arrive on time so as not to affect the process.
Corrupt practices
Sources within the APNU+AFC told the Guyana Chronicle that this development speaks to corrupt practices undertaken by persons in District One as regards the credibility of the process. It was noted that the books in question are priority documents and are supposed to be in envelopes or packages submitted by the RO to GECOM. It is unclear why Harris paid scant regard to the submission of the documents.
On Wednesday morning, when the containers for the ballots for District One were opened, some of the containers were found with water inside. It is unclear if this compromised the counting of ballots in those containers. The national recount commenced after a delayed start on Wednesday which centered on security arrangements as well as the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) being unable to find the keys to its locks on several containers containing the ballots.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_05_07_2020