Recount unofficially confirms PPP won Region One

Last Updated on Friday, 15 May 2020, 21:26 by Denis Chabrol

The national recount of votes cast in general and regional elections more than two months ago on Thursday confirmed that the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) won in Region One (Barima-Waini).

After the  contents of the so-called lone “wet box” were dried, GECOM counted the votes because the markings could be seen.

The ballots were for a polling station at Kariako in Region One where 174 eligible voters are listed.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will not be making individual regional declarations but will instead make issue one full declaration of results when the recount of the more than 400,000 votes cast in all 10 regions is completed.

However, The Citizenship Initiative (TCI), which is one of the political parties that has representatives witnessing the recount and tabulation, is publishing results on a website titled Guyana Results (click here) at the end of every day.

With Region One’s more than 12,436 votes from 99 boxes counted, the results show that the PPP  won 8,002 instead of 8,022 votes in the Statement of Poll dated March 8, 2020 and A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) 3,909 instead of 3,905 on March 8.

In the recount, the Liberty and Justice Party’s 170 votes were confirmed, the People’s Republic Party got one more vote to take it it up to 24 and the United Republican Party won six instead of eight votes.

Now that the lone remaining box has been recounted, overall, the recount showed that number of valid votes cast in Region One was 12,111 instead of 12,128, a reduction by 17 votes. The recount shows that the number of rejected ballots was 325 instead of 333 on the Statement of Poll.

Barring the soaked ballots in one box, the recount exercise has moved on to Region Five which has 158 ballot boxes of which seven have been already counted on Thursday.

In 2015, the PPP won 6,278 votes and APNU+AFC secured 2,788 votes in Region One.

Elections Commissioner, Vincent Alexander also could not say how many votes were actually jeopardised by the recount in Region One.  “As I stand here, I know of the allegations… I have not focussed on that… Yes, there is the time when I will be called upon to focus on it. I have not focussed on it. I don’t have before me a complete report. I don’t have the interest to go out there digging up. As a commissioner, when it comes to me I will do what the commission is required to do,” he said.APNU+AFC member, David Patterson dodged questions about whether and when the coalition would release copies of its Statements of Poll. He hinted that some statistical information would be released after all the votes for Region One are recounted.

The APNU+AFC has been alleging a wide range of irregularities including people voting in the names of emigrants and deceased persons by taking advantage of a bloated voters’ list.

GECOM has set aside 25 days for the recount of the more than 400,000 votes cast at 2,339 polling stations countrywide.