Dear Editor,
IT IS widely circulated in sections of the media that a recount is simply a recount of ballots; that is, an iterative process of counting one, two, three and arriving at a total. This understanding has to be dispelled. Guyanese must understand that a recount is for all intents and purposes a thorough repeat of the counting process which occurred at all the places of poll.
It is important to note that in Region 6, a Presiding Officer had to be fired, and in Districts Two, Three and Five, among others, PPP-controlled Presiding Officers were not operating based on the rules set out by GECOM. The recount has to take these facts into consideration.
Most, if not all, polling stations ended the voting process at 18:00hrs, and commenced the counting process. Given the number of discrepancies unearthed in the various districts, I don’t believe that many Presiding Officers followed the counting process.
My understanding of the process is that it requires the Presiding Officers to first count the unused ballot papers. The Presiding Officers would then count the number of names that were scratched off from their copies of the Official List of Electors (OLE). The Presiding Officers would then subtract the amount of names that were scratched from the total number of names on the OLE. The figure they get after doing that subtraction must synchronise with the total number of unused ballots. The next step is to go into the ballot boxes.
The Presiding Officers, upon removing the seals from the ballot boxes, must empty the contents on a table and count the ballot papers in the presence of all. The total number of ballot papers in the box is expected to be the same figure for the amount of names that were scratched from the OLE, and further, the figure of the ballot papers in the box with the figure of the unused ballot papers and the spoilt ballot papers when added together must give you back the total number of electors on the OLE, and also the total number of ballot papers that were issued to the Presiding Officers. In essence, the count must ensure that all the figures correspond and harmonise.
The Presiding Officers are then expected to separate the ballot papers (General and Regional), and start the one, two, three count.
At the end of the one, two, three count, the Presiding Officers are expected to ensure again that the number of spoilt ballot papers, the number of rejected ballot papers and the number of valid ballot papers add up to the number of total ballot papers issued to them. All the information are then placed on a tally sheet, and then placed onto the Statements of Poll.
Since there is evidence in District 3, that on many occasions the Presiding Officers did not place what was on the tally sheet on the SOPs, there is need in the recount process to ensure the tally sheet and the SOPs correspond.
Editor, I may not have chronicled every single action expected of the Presiding Officers during the counting process, but the idea and intention are to ensure that we understand what exactly a count in our elections is. It is a process that seeks to ensure that the total number of valid votes for all parties’ List of Candidates and total number of rejected ballot papers add up to the total number of votes cast at polling stations, and that figure along with the number of spoilt ballot papers and number of destroyed ballot papers must add up to the total number of ballot papers issued to the polling station. There must also be a record of the number of used or unused tendered ballot papers. **In addition, there cannot be more votes than the amount of voters on the voters’ list. This also has to be checked because there are cases in which this occurred.
We must also remember that the count was done in a decentralized manner while the recount from all indication will be done in a centralized manner.
Editor, I have no doubt that the People’s Progressive Party will not want this process to happen especially from Regions One to Ten because they don’t want the world to see and know what they are guilty of but as I have said before let the recount begin and let the chips fall where they may. I humbly await the final declaration in favour of the APNU+AFC.
Regards,
Ganesh Mahipaul
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_04_10_2020