GECOM to decide on June 16 deadline for declaration

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 May 2020, 21:23 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will Thursday begin talks on whether to declare results in the March 2, 2020 general and regional elections by June 16, 2020, a senior commission source said Thursday.

None of the commissioners or GECOM’s spokeswoman, Yolanda Ward has briefed the media in recent days, but the source said the seven-member body would Thursday discuss all the remaining steps to be taken towards a declaration of results.

These include the inevitable extension of the 25-day recount deadline that expires on May 31, tabulation and declaration of results.

One of the seven Election Commissioners confirmed to News-Talk Radio Guyana 103.1 FM/ Demerara Waves Online News that the pro-People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Commissioners asked for time to study draft amendments to the Recount Order which includes the June 16, 2020 deadline.

So far, GECOM has not established more counting stations or decided what would be done with the evidence that A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has been asked to submit its claims that people voted in the names of dead people and others who were out of Guyana on polling day.

The source said the Commission has not yet discussed how to handle such evidence.

GECOM has so far tabulated 1,337 of the 2,339 boxes of ballots that contain about 480,000 votes. Regions 1 (Barima-Waini), 2 (Pomeroon-Supenaam), and 5 (Mahaica-West Berbice) have been recounted. The recount of Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) may be finished on Friday as there only six of 76 boxes left to be recounted.

In terms of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Guyana’s most densely populated electoral district, 555 of the 879 boxes of ballots are yet to be counted.

The recount is being scrutinised by a three-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team.