Recount expected today – to start with Region Four

Mar 16, 2020 News

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By Kemol King

A total recount of all votes cast in the 2020 general and regional elections is expected to begin today, according to Commissioners of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
The Commission met with a high-level CARICOM delegation yesterday to work out the modalities of that recount, and the extent of the CARICOM team’s supervisory role in this process. Among those modalities is that Region Four will be the first district to be counted.

GECOM’s chief elections officer, Keith Lowenfield provided for the Commission and the CARICOM team a framework under which he contemplated the mechanism for the recount, according to Commissioner Sase Gunraj.
At that point, those parties collectively fine-tuned the work-plan, incorporating suggestions to improve its efficiency, thereby producing an operable plan.
Barbados Prime Minister and CARICOM Chair, Mia Mottley had said that the Independent High Level Team from CARICOM will be chaired by Francine Baron, former Attorney General and Foreign Minister; and comprise Mr. Anthony Boatswain, former Minister of Finance of Grenada, and Ms. Cynthia Barrow-Giles, Senior Lecturer in Department of Government of University of the West Indies.
They will also be accompanied by the two chief elections officers from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
Gunraj told reporters last night that it had become necessary for CARICOM to intervene, as GECOM has failed to produce credible elections results which could withstand scrutiny.
Generally, the recount is expected to fall in line with the normal process for same.
Kaieteur News has been informed that a document denoting the terms of reference has been drafted to govern the nature of the mechanism for the recount. It is expected that this and other pertinent details will be communicated to the public by GECOM early this morning.
What is known now is that the officials expected to observe the process are already mostly prescribed in law. According to Gunraj, this lot includes representatives of the political parties, duly appointed observers, the GECOM Chair and her Commissioners, and the high-level CARICOM team.
Gunraj and his colleague, Commissioner Vincent Alexander, told reporters last night that the CARICOM team will accompany Lowenfield to the proposed location for the recount, the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, to determine its suitability for the process.

Thereafter, they are expected to work out the remaining logistics.
Both Commissioners said that the proposal was made as the Centre is secure and offers a certain level of logistical comfort.
The “very productive meeting” held yesterday, according to Alexander, saw the relevant parties determining that the recount should start today. GECOM will have to operate with a well-oiled engine if it is to meet such a goal. Gunraj said that he hopes GECOM could provide the first update on the recount by afternoon.
Gunraj was asked last night whether there will be the use of statements of poll. He said that there is not enough overage from the election to meet the 2,339 statements which would be needed. Nevertheless, he revealed that what was discussed is the use of a document with all the hallmarks of a statement of poll, including the necessary security features.
He said then that there is no need for “physical statements of poll in the form that you’re accustomed to.”
Details about that document are expected early today in GECOM’s public advisory.
While there have been concerns about the recount surpassing the statutory period of 15 days – in which a declaration of the elections results is required – Gunraj said that the law makes provisions for the extension of the deadline, and that GECOM will make use of that.
It is unclear exactly how long this process will take. GECOM wants to conduct counts of five ballot boxes at a time. It also will be working for more than 12 hours a day, according to Gunraj, but not entirely around the clock.
Alexander said that once the location can accommodate that, the process can be executed smoothly and quickly.
He assured that for each box being counted at a time, GECOM will facilitate oversight by a representative from each party, as well as overseers from GECOM and the CARICOM team.
In terms of managing the security of the ballot boxes, GECOM has taken a decision to allow the representatives of the political parties to keep an eye on them. The police will also be flocking the area.
Large trucks were seen carrying the boxes yesterday in shipping containers to GECOM’s Kingston headquarters. It is expected that they will be transported to the centre early today.
GECOM does not expect to follow the number sequence when deciding which region to count next. Alexander said the CARICOM team proposed moving from the most populous regions to the least. Region four was chosen for that reason, and because the result has been the subject of most contention.
Gunraj was keen to note that GECOM appreciates the anxiety that the current situation has caused the nation, and that it does not want to exacerbate that. He said GECOM is working to get the process sorted and executed in a timely and credible manner, to assuage that anxiety.

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