…367 ballot boxes counted to date
WITH a total of 93 ballot boxes already processed for District One (Barima-Waini), the counting of ballots cast in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), is likely to commence today, Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Yolanda Ward has said.
Of the total 2,339 ballot boxes drawn from across the country, 99 are from Region One. The others were received from the other nine Electoral Districts and with 93 already counted for Region One, the remaining six ballot boxes are expected to be processed today, paving the way for the votes in Region Five to be recounted in accordance with the May 4 Order gazetted by the Guyana Elections Commission. There are 158 ballot boxes from Region Five.
Wednesday marked eight days since the recount of the votes cast at the March 2020 General and Regional Elections commenced and at the close of operations at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), 56 ballot boxes had been processed – 15 each from Regions One, Three and Four and 11 from Region Two.
In total, 367 ballot boxes have been processed to date from a total of 2,339. In addition to the 93 already counted from Region One, 78 have been processed from Region Two from a total of 135. In the case of Region Three, there are a total of 355 ballot boxes and already, 100 have been processed. In the country’s largest electoral block – Region Four – there are 879 ballot boxes, of which 96 have been processed.
Once the ballots within a ballot box are processed or counted, a Statement of Recount (SOR) is generated at the level of the workstations, and, according to Ward, to date, 350 SORs have been tabulated for the General Elections while 350 SORs have been completed for the Regional Elections.
However, with approximately 1,972 ballot boxes left to be processed, the Guyana Elections Commission is moving to increasing the number of workstations from 10, in its quest to reach the 25-day timeline. Already, eight days have been exhausted, leaving approximately 17 days before the timeline expires. A team of health experts from the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) is expected to visit the Conference Centre to determine if it would be possible to add more workstations. The workstations, which are manned by four GECOM staff each, operate for a period of 11 hours from 8:00hrs to 19:00hrs.
In keeping with the Order that was gazetted, there is a simultaneous counting of votes, and with Region One nearing completion, the teams operating the 10 workstations will continue to count votes from Region Two, Three and Four, while moving to include Region Five.
“The recount shall commence with the allocation of 10 workstations as follows: District One, two workstations; District Two, two workstations; District Three, three workstations; and District Four, three workstations. The recount for District Four shall continue at the three workstations assigned to it. The recount for Districts Five through 10 shall be conducted, based on the completion of, and at the workstations assigned to, Districts One, Two and Three,” the gazzetted order explains.
GENERAL COMPLIANCE
Based on reports coming out of the Guyana Elections Commission thus far, generally, there has been compliance with the guidelines set out in the Order, which legally triggered the recount.
Upon the arrival of a ballot box at a workstation, it is first examined to ascertain that the seals are intact. The contents are then emptied, and the election materials examined. Notes are then taken, and records made in accordance with the requirements of the Ballot Box Checklist. Any observation not catered for in the checklist provided is recorded in the Observation Report. To date, the APNU+AFC has cited a number of anomalies, including missing List of Elections, alleged ghost voters, and missing affidavits.
SIGNING OFF
Notwithstanding the foregoing observations, the supervisors at the 10 workstations are mandated to sign off on the Ballot Box Checklists, in addition to the Observation Reports. Those reports are also being signed by representatives of each contesting party, and copies of the completed Ballot Box Checklists and Observation Reports are given to the party representatives.
The result of the General and Regional Recount of each ballot box is recorded as provided for on a Statement of Recount (SOR) upon the completion of the recount of each box. Importantly, the tabulation of the Statements of Recount is being done at a central tabulation centre within the Conference Centre, in the presence of the CARICOM Scrutinising Team; representatives of political parties; local and international observers; and GECOM officials.
A copy of the signed matrix will then be submitted to the CEO, and copies thereof will be given to the parties’ representatives, observers, CARICOM Scrutinising Team, the GECOM Chair and Commissioners.
“The matrices for the recount of the 10 Electoral Districts shall then be tabulated by the Chief Election Officer and shall be submitted in a report, together with a summary of the observation reports for each district, to the commission,” a section of the order reads. It also indicated that the CARICOM Scrutinising Team will also submit a report to the commission, inclusive of its observations, recommendations and conclusions.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_05_14_2020