…decisions on additional workstations, extension of recount pending
With 1,133 ballot boxes from the March 2020 General and Regional Elections left to be processed, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), this week, is expected to extend the 25-day timeline for the National Recount even as it continues to explore the possibility of further increasing the number of workstations.
Elections Commission, headed by Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, met on Monday. However, no decision was made to extend the duration of the recount as it awaits clearance from the National COVID-19 Task Force for the establishment of two additional workstations within the Arthur Chung Conference Centre – the venue of the national recount.
Last Wednesday, the Elections Commission asked the National Task Force to reconsider its decision to allow for two more workstations to be added, in an effort to accelerate the pace at which the 2020 Elections Ballots are being recounted. To date, a response has not been forthcoming. An increase in the number of workstations would directly impact the pace at which the ballots are being recounted, and would ultimately influence the duration of the exercise.
Two days before the request was made, the COVID-19 Task Force had approved the establishment of two workstations from a proposed six based on an earlier request. Initially, there was a total of 10 workstations operating for a period of 11 hours (08:00hrs to 19:00hrs) daily at the Conference Centre.
However, the Elections Commission, in reviewing the exercise, took a decision in the second week of the recount, to increase the number of workstations but sought clearance from the COVID-19 Task Force, in light of the Emergency Measures that have been in place since mid-March. On Monday, May 18, 2020 the COVID-19 Task Force submitted its report to the Elections Commission, and though highlighting a number of infractions, approved the establishment of the two additional workstations. Those new workstations were put into operation on Tuesday.
However, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward, said that though there are now a total of 12 workstations engaged in the recounting of ballots, two more workstations are needed to effectively increase the pace at which the ballot boxes are being processed.
In an interview with reporters on Monday, on the margins of the recount at the Conference Centre, Elections Commissioner Sase Gunraj, while confirming that GECOM has not concretised its plan to extend the 25-day timeline, said the Commission is anxiously awaiting clearance from the COVID-19 Task Force.
“We are still anxiously awaiting, a decision or a position on the addition of new workstations. It is the singular most important factor in improving the pace at which this process will be concluded,” Gunraj told reporters.
He noted that since the number of workstations was increased to 12 on May 19, 2020, the number of ballot boxes processed on a daily basis has increased. However, he said, much more is desired. During the early days of the recount, the number of ballot boxes processed on a daily basis ranged between 40 and 60; however, since the first increase took effect, the number of boxes processed has been between 70 and 88.
“I believe that with the addition of more workstations, that the numbers can rise and rise significantly, that is to say the number of boxes processed daily,” Gunraj said. According to him, the locations for the additional workstations have been identified. Were it up to Gunraj, the stations would have been established and put in operation but the decision lies in the hands of the entire Commission.
Even as it awaits further advice from the Task Force, the Elections Commission, he said, will be taking critical steps to reduce down time at the workstations. “We recognize that several of our processes are not operating with maximum benefits and with maximum efficiency and as a consequence we have agreed to take steps in relation to speed up the [process],” the Elections Commissioner said. Already, the Commission has resolved a basket of issues, which in effect, addressed a number of “teething” problems that were experienced during the early days of the recount.
1206 BALLOT BOXES PROCESSED TO DATE
Notwithstanding the challenges faced, the Elections Secretariat, to date, has processed a total of 1,206 ballot boxes, with all of the votes from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) recounted as of Monday. All of the ballot boxes from Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) were completed earlier. The completion of Region Five paved the way for the ballots from Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) to be recounted.
According to GECOM’s PRO, the last seven (7) boxes from the Mahaica-Berbice District were processed on Monday. That district has a total of 158 ballot boxes.
Aside from those seven, 18 ballot boxes from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) were processed on Monday, in addition to 21 from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), 18 from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), seven from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), five from Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and six from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) – a total of 82.
Ward also indicated that of the total number of ballot boxes processed from Region One (Barima-Waini) to Nine, 1,169 Statements of Recount (SORs) have been tabulated for the General Elections, and 1,117 for the Regional Elections. SORs are generated once the ballot boxes have been processed.
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.
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 were a total of 26,491 valid voters in the Regional Elections for Region Two.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_26_05_2020