… Alexander says CAR/COM observers not privy to records that confirmed electoral fraud
… deems their report ‘a basic electoral report’
ELECTIONS Commission Vincent Alexander, though not dismissing tbt Observation Report compiled by the: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Observation Team, said it failed to take into full consideration the impact voter impersonation would have on the 2020 General and Regional Elections, on the simple basis that it was not privy to the records that confirmed that electoral fraud had in fact taken place.
“The CARICOM Report, essentially, is a basic electoral report. I don’t think the CARICOM people were disposed, or had access, to the death information or the immigration information· Alexander told reporters on Monday, while explaining that whereas the three-member delegation was aware of the allegations, it was not in possession of the official records submitted by the Immigration Department and the General Registrar’s Office.
The delegation, which comprised Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cynthia Barrow Giles; Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, John Jarvis, and Deputy Supervisor of Elections of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sylvester King, said that while there were irregularities at the 2020 Elections, none of those irregularities and shortcomings are sufficient to call the results of the elections into question.
“Yes, the recount suggests that the poll was far from perfect, but the imperfections cannot deny that the elections and therefore the recount were reasonably credible,” the CARICOM Observers submitted in their report to the Chair of GECOM, Justice (Ret’d)
Claudette Singh.
But according to Alexander, the CARICOM Report is based on the 18. 08% or 423 ballot boxes it observed from a total of 2, 339 during the 33 day National Recount at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). “What they said… the recount that they saw was sufficient to reflect the will of the people,” the Elections Commissioner said. Me said that based on the CEO’s Report and supporting information, the credibility of the 2020 Elections is in question. “At this point in time, I am of the view that there are serious questions about the credibility, given the irregularities that have been verified,” Alexander said, and that his position is not likely to change.
The Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield in his report said that the General and Regional Elections were far from credible, as over 200,000 ballots cast in the General and Regional Elections have been impacted by anomalies, irregularities and voter impersonation with Region Six seeing the highest percentage of ballots being affected. Said irregularities led the CEO to conclude that the elections did not satisfy the criteria of impartiality, fairness and compliance with the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act.
In Region One (Barima-Waini), where there were 99 ballot boxes counted, the total number of affected ballots stands at 4,194 or 34. 6 per cent of the ballots cast in that region. In Region Two ( Pomeroon-Supenaam), where there wert 135 ballot boxes, 19,913 votes were affected, representing 74.8 per cent of all ballots cast. For Region Three (Essequibo lslands-West Demerara) where 355 ballot boxes were present, there were 49,286, or 67.9 per cent of ballots affected. Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), home of 879, the highest number of ballot boxes, saw 112,039 or 55.4 per cent of ballots cast being affected. Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) saw 16 ,737 or 50.5 per cast of its ballots cast being affected out or 158 ballot bons; and in Region Six (East Btrbice-Coreotynt), where there were 378 ballot boxes, there wert a total or 49,952 or 77.4 per cent of ballots cast affected, the highest percentage witnessed In Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), with only 82 ballot boxes, there were 6,763 or70 .5 per cent of ballots cast affected. Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) bad only 55 ballot boxes, and saw 2,507, or 53.7 per cent of ballots being affected. lo Region IO (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), with 125 ballot boxes, saw 3,873 or 17 per cent or the ballots cast affected.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_06_16_2020