Mingo’s tabulation inflated in favour of APNU+AFC

Mingo’s tabulation inflated in favour of APNU+AFC – Recount shows

May 10, 2020 News

A statement of recount (SOR) produced during the national recount of votes has revealed that the tabulation produced for one polling division by Region Four returning officer Clairmont Mingo was inflated in favour of the governing coalition, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC).

The SORs for ballot box No. 4058, a polling station at Supply Primary School, polling division 412131B (ii), counted Friday at Workstation 10 showed that, for the General Election, APNU+AFC secured 93 votes, while the PPP/C secured 91 votes, and for the Regional Election, APNU+AFC secured 94 votes, while the PPP/C secured 88.
However, video evidence of Mingo’s Hadfield street tabulation shows a GECOM staffer reading very different figures, under his supervision. The clerk, after reading out the number of the ballot box #4058, read that APNU+AFC secured 163 votes, while the PPP secured 71 votes. While the video clip did not indicate whether the tabulation in question was for the Regional or General Election, the figures were clearly contradicted, those of the SOR in favour of the Coalition by either 70 votes for the General Elections or 69 if the tabulation referred to the Regional Elections.
It should be noted that Mingo’s tabulation did not only produce a higher APNU+AFC vote but produced a lower PPP/C vote as well, either by 20 votes if the tabulation figures were general or 17 votes if they were regional.

Table showing Mingo’s figures against figures from statements of recount

Statement of Recount Ballot Box #4058 Regional Election

Statement of Recount for Ballot Box #4058 General Election

A screenshot of the video shows Region Four returning officer, Clairmont Mingo (encircled), alongside two GECOM staffers

Kaieteur News spoke to commissioners outside of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre about this matter, following the conclusion of Day four of the

National Recount yesterday. Commissioner Sase Gunraj said, on this matter, that he can attest to the fact that Mingo’s tabulation produced inflated numbers.
He said that, at the time, he was holding the statement of poll given to him as a Commissioner, while Mingo’s tabulation was being read. The Commissioner explained that when he heard the glaringly inflated figure, he spoke out about the matter in protest. He said that police officers were brought in to restrain the opposition about the inflated tabulation, but that he had continued to question the matter.
Both Commissioners Sase Gunraj and Vincent Alexander were asked whether they would advocate, at the end of the national recount, for acomparison of the statements of recount with the figures produced by Mingo. Gunraj said yes, and Alexander said that his advocacy would be for a comparison not just with Mingo’s tabulation but for all regions. As such, a comparison could unearth whether there had been electoral fraud.
The PPP has claimed that the statements of recount have vindicated the statements of poll in their possession, which they published online. The PPP also had claimed that the statements of recount showed that Mingo’s numbers were incorrect.
Allegations that there might be attempts to rig the elections began mid-March shortly after the contentious pair of declarations of the Region Four results by Mingo was ruled as unlawful by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire.
A slew of circumstances had halted the tabulation and when it resumed, Mingo returned with a spreadsheet, which showed numbers observers and party representatives did not see inputted onto the spreadsheet.
Though there was much protest over this, especially by the PPP, Mingo had gone ahead and made declarations based on those figures. The PPP challenged the declarations for the general and regional elections in Court and successfully got them vitiated.

The Chief Justice had sent Mingo back to the table, after she found that he did not stick to the law on the procedure necessary for the count. The illegality that occurred according to the Court, is that Mingo did not allow the persons entitled to witness the process the opportunity to observe when he placed the figures from the statements of poll on to the spreadsheet, if he did that at all.
It did not help the situation when the second general and regional declarations for Region Four, made on March 13, also followed a tabulation marred by a lack of transparency and accusations of electoral fraud. At least five of the contesting political parties had reported that Mingo produced inflated statements of poll, with numbers that were clearly clumsily doctored.
Political parties reported that the statements of poll were projected in such a way that they could not ascertain the veracity of the numbers or the authenticity of the documents. Observers and political parties reported that when they asked Mingo to view the security features on the statements of poll, they were rejected.
Nevertheless, Mingo made a second pair of declarations of the Region Four General and Regional Elections results, which did not command enough public confidence for GECOM to consider them at the time for the announcement of the official elections results.
Mingo’s first pair of declarations was at odds with his second pair, but the governing coalition did not appear to care for that and signed off on the declarations both times. Joseph Harmon, APNU+AFC campaign co-chair had revealed that the party hoped its presidential candidate, David Granger, would be sworn in quickly.
That did not happen, as calls began to mount, particularly from the international community, for a fair and credible conclusion to the electoral process. Though attempts were made by an APNU+AFC candidate, Ulita Moore to prevent the recount, GECOM has finally managed to get the recount underway, more than two months after the March 2 General and Regional Elections.