Chief Elections Officer submits recount report to GECOM Chairman

Last Updated on Saturday, 13 June 2020, 13:39 by Denis Chabrol

The Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield on Saturday submitted his report on the national recount of votes cast at the March 2, 2020 general and regional polls to the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh.

“The Commission will meet to deliberate and base on the outcome of that discussion they will ask him (Lowenfield) to prepare another report in accordance with (the recount order) which is the calculation of seats etc;” GECOM spokeswoman, Yolanda Ward told Demerara Waves Online News/ News-Talk Radio Guyana 103.1 FM.

Of the 460,352 valid votes cast, the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has won 217,920 and the People’s Progressive Party 233,336. The three ‘joinder’ parties- A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM) got a total of 5,214‬ votes.

But APNU+AFC presidential candidate, David Granger and  People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) executive member, Aubrey Norton want the “bogus votes” and “irregularities” to be removed before GECOM declares the results. Norton went as far as saying if GECOM cannot remove those irregularities, then the electoral management agency should invalidate the polls.

Already, the PPP has said that GECOM cannot constitutionally or otherwise legally fail to make a declaration, anul the polls or transform itself into a court to hear disputes from contesting political parties.

The PPP maintains that those must be thrashed out through an election petition to the High Court after the results are declared by GECOM.

The three-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team of scrutineers is yet to submit its report to the Commission.

Incoming CARICOM Chairman, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and the Organisation of American States (OAS) have called for the recount results to be used as the basis for a final declaration and installation of a legitimate government.