President dismisses PPP claims that gov’t using pandemic to stymie vote recount
…says pandemic has already killed thousands of people
By Lisa Hamilton
PRESID ENT David Granger bas dismissed allegations that the government is using the current COVID-19 situation as a means of stymieing the work of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Such allegations have originated from the main opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), since the commission first requested of the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) a clear outline of how the recount operation should be physicaly acco1nmodated in keeping with social distancing guidelines.
As of recent, the NCTF has been called upon for a second time to determine whether the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) can host additional workstations to speed up the recount process.
A report is yet to be received by the commission from the NCTF, but this has not stopped the opposition from suggesting that the government-led task force will set out to politicise the decision in the ruling coalition’s interest.
ln a briefing with the media on SLrnday, President Granger said that it is ludicrous for one to suggest that the government could use a global pandemic in its interest, when the country’s current guidelines are similar to best practices around the world.
‘”COVID is not an excuse, COVID is a reality and we don’t have to use COVID ·· a pandemic which has already killed thousands of people all around the world -as an excuse. It is not something whimsical, it is not bad weather, it is a fatal disease and it is not an empty excuse that we’re presenting.
And, if it is the considered judgement of Guyana that certain measures should be enforced to protect the people, that is my duty as president, to protect the people of this country,” he said.
As of May 16, 2020, Guyana officially recorded I 17 cases of the coronavirus with 10 deaths. Meanwhile, globally, there are over· 4.3 million cases of COVJD-19, with over 297,000 deaths.
The Ministry of Public Health has reminded the public that measures can be continuously implemented, but it is up to the individuals -·· the average Guyanese ·· to adhere to those measures for a countrywide “flattening [of] the curve.’
Representatives f the NCTF Health Emergency Committee first visited the centre on April 23, 2020 and initially approved the current IO workstations which are facilitating the count of ballots cast in Regions One ,Two, Three and Four.
Last Tuesday, the commission decided to have the number of workstations increased. A site visit was conducted by the health experts on Thursday, and it was expected that a report would have been submitted to the commission by Friday. However, the report containing the advice is still pending.
Already, six locations within the conference centre have been identified by the commission where workstations could be established. It is unclear at this point whether the commission will finalise its decision on the number of workstations to be added in the absence of a report from the task force, or whether it will move to extend the 25-day timeline.
Provided that the increase in approved, GECOM Chair Justice Claudette Singh hopes to see the recount of at least 100 ballot boxes per day.
Also responding to the allegations of the politicising of COVI D-19 on Saturday, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence said that it is not for political parties to dictate how many more workstations should be added to the existing 10, but for all involved to be concerned about the safety of the environment
“‘It is not for the APN U or any other political party to say at this point, ·1 want 10 or 20 [workstations],” she said.
“If anybody wants to talk about politicising COVID-19, see the PPP; they are the ones that put people’s lives at stake. Since January when we were talking about it, they were telling people that I was lying; I was using it as a political gimmick.
Well, we have 10 persons dead, and over 100 people who would have contracted this virus, including children, and four families.”
She said it was with safety and security in mind that the elections commission sought the adv ice of the representatives of the Health Emergency Committee, through the COVID-19 Task Force, on the utilisation of space within the conference centre.
Lawrence also stated that like any other stakeholder in the process, the APNU+AFC is awaiting the report from the task force to move the process forward.
Meanwhile, the President reiterated on Sunday: °’I don’t understand that any country in the world could use COVID as an excuse.
COVID is the first public health crisis for 100 years; that’s not an excuse.”
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_05_18_2020