The Guyana Elections Commission is making arrangements to get its poll books for Mabaruma from Returning Officer of Region 1, Trevon Harris.
Contacted today, Harris said he is no longer on the job. Questioned as to when he left the job or had his services terminated, Harris said he did not know. Harris, however, said that the books are in GECOM’s Office in Mabaruma.
However, sources told this newscast that they found it strange that the books were not turned over to GECOM and are still in the Region. It’s unclear why the RO would have made such a move when the process is still ongoing.
The books which form part of GECOM’s records are usually written up by Presiding Officers. At the end of the counting of the ballots, the books are placed in envelopes and sent to the respective Returning Officers to be submitted along with the ballot boxes to GECOM. However, the box was submitted to GECOM but not the poll books.
Region 1 is one of the regions won by the PPP, b ironically, the party agents for the PPP this morning claimed that the keys for their lock on the Region 1 container were allegedly misplaced.
Earlier this morning the Georgetown’s Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had reason to close the at the Stabroek Market gates temporarily.
At 09:00 hours. the area was heavily packed and customers were seen not wearing face masks.
Earlier this morning at the Stabroek Market, Georgetown’s Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had reason to close the market gates temporarily as at 09:00 hours. The area was heavily packed and customers were seen not wearing face masks.
Mayor of Georgetown, His Worship Mayor Ubraj Narine who was at the scene explained that the authorities were forced to close the gates because persons were refusing to wear masks and sanitise their hands as they entered the market.
He reported that the constabulary on the ground had de-escalated the situation.
“The crowd wasn’t adhering to the measures and guidelines for the safety of Guyana,” Mayor Narine disclosed.
The Mayor reiterated that one of the measures implemented called for the washing of hands by both vendors and customers
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will be providing live audio broadcasts of the national recount of the March 2 ballots, on its website as well as its Facebook and YouTube pages, the commission’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward has informed.
The national recount of the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections will commence tomorrow at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) from 08:00hours to 19:00hours daily.
The commission is aiming to complete the process within 25 days, depending on the successes of the first seven days.
This morning the commission began transporting the containers of ballot boxes to the ACCC for the process.
The national recount will be carried out at 10 workstations, eight of which will accommodate 14 persons. Two workstations will have 10 persons each. The recount will commence with District 1 – two workstations; District 2 – two workstations; District 3 – three workstations and District 4 – three workstations. The recount for District 4 shall continue at the three (3) workstations assigned to it. The recounts for Districts 5 through 10 will be conducted based on the completion of, and at the workstations assigned to, Districts 1, 2 and 3.
The elections body said each workstation will have representatives of parties, local and international observers and GECOM officials. The recount will be scrutinised by a three-member high-level team from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
His Excellency President David Granger on Monday said he was satisfied that the hurdles had been cleared for the elections commission to conduct the national recount and reminded that the elections body remains the only entity to carry out its constitutionally mandated responsibility.
The Head of State said the entire nation now awaits the completion of the recount of the ballots and the declaration of the results by the commission, which will subsequently allow for a democratically elected government to be sworn into office.
The Ministry of Public Health has reported that as of 5 May, 2020 the number of COVID-19-related deaths now stand at 10.
With a new case recorded there are now 93 confirmed cases.
Twenty-seven persons have been medically cleared and have since recovered from the virus.
A total of 680 persons have been tested, with 587 of those tested returning negative.
In institutional quarantine, there are 6 persons while 56 others are housed in institutional isolation.
The number of patients currently in the COVID-19, ICU at the GPHC remains at three.
Globally the WHO had reported 3,435,894 confirmed cases with 239,604 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, the number of confirmed cases is 1,433,756 with 77,827 deaths.
The Ministry of Public Health is again calling on all citizens to heed the health advisories and observe the correct hygiene measures and precautions. Citizens are also asked to always practice social distancing in the workplace, public spaces, and while using public transportation so as reduce the spread of the coronavirus diseases.
Since March 11, Guyana has recorded 92 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
These 92 cases are inclusive of 8 deaths and 27 recoveries including three today.
This was disclosed by Public Health Minister Hon. Volda Lawrence in the daily update to the nation.
So far, a total of 639 persons have been tested with 547 of those tested returning negative.
Seven persons are in institutional quarantine while the 56 persons remain in isolation at various facilities across Guyana.
Three persons are housed in the COVID-19 ICU at GPHC.
Globally, according to WHO reports, 3, 349,786 confirmed cases with 238,628 deaths.
In the Region of the Americas the number of confirmed cases is 1,384, 641 with 78, 409 deaths.
The Ministry of Public Health is again calling on all citizens to heed the health advisories and observe the correct hygiene measures and precautions. Citizens are also asked to always practice social distancing in the workplace, public spaces, and while using public transportation so as reduce the spread of the coronavirus diseases.
His Excellency President David Granger has welcomed the announcement by the Guyana Election Commission, for the commencement of the national recount of the March 2nd, 2020, General and Regional Elections.
The Head of State’s remarks come immediately after the commission would have officially gazetted the Order for the national recount.
“I welcome the Commission’s announcement. The entire nation is awaiting the completion of the recount of the ballots and the declaration of the results by the Elections Commission,” President Granger remarked.
He further expressed satisfaction that the commission had cleared its hurdles and is fully prepared to execute its mandate and conduct the recount.
The Head of State assured that he will accept the declaration of the results by the Elections Commission.
The President reminded that he has always abided by the judgements of the courts and has not intervened in the electoral process.
“I have complied always with the rulings of the Courts. I have never interfered, intervened or intruded in the work of the Elections Commission; its independence is respected, and I have upheld always the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, which is the supreme law of the land,” he emphasized.
He drew attention to the fact that following the ruling of the court, he had agreed that “a total recount of the ballots from all electoral districts in Regions One to Ten would take place urgently and in accordance with the Constitution, the applicable law and the judgment of the Court issued by Roxanne George Chief Justice (ag.) on Wednesday 11 March 2020.”
Additionally, he noted that an agreement was made to allow a high-level team from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) supervise the recount and function strictly within the framework of the Constitution, under the aegis of the Commission and the rulings of the Court.
The Head of State urged Guyanese to be patient as the country awaits the outcome of the national recount.
Government nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander said the CARICOM team will be Scrutinizing the process. He updated the media after today’s meeting.
PPP Nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj said the issue of live streaming of the process was back before the commission today. He spoke to reporters after the meeting today.
The long-awaited national recount of the March 2nd, General and Regional Elections will get underway on Wednesday, May 6.
This was confirmed by Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Vincent Alexander.
Emerging from a commission meeting last evening which lasted for several hours, Alexander said the operational plan and final order for the recount are completed, with the Order set to be gazetted on Monday, after the issue of live streaming is further addressed.
Although a decision was already taken on the matter, GECOM’s Chairman Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh will on Monday make a pronouncement in writing to commissioners, in what is expected to be the final say on the matter.
However, Alexander said the Chairman is leaning towards an audio broadcast instead of a live stream, as she has chosen to “lower the tempo of aggression” displayed in the media including social media, especially towards her.
Amid the continuous regurgitation by opposition commissioners, of issues already decided on, Alexander said the Chairman’s pronouncement today encapsulated what was previously resolved.
That includes the intermittent broadcast of the process. Justice Singh also expressed the desire to have the ballot boxes viewed when they are out of the containers so that persons can confirm that there was no tampering with the seals.
Commissioner Alexander meanwhile, addressed what he said are some “troubling things” being expressed by the opposition side.
He said the recount is being conducted under Section 22 of the Representation of the Peoples’ Act (RPA) and Article 162 of the Constitution. However, there are persons who are trying to “use” 162 of the Constitution and Article 22 of the RPA at their convenience.
“There is no provision for streaming in any of the legislation. So if we are talking about streaming, we can only go to 162 of the Constitution and the RPA 22 which gives the commission latitude. (But) the very people who have agreed to the use of the latitude are also seeking to object to the very latitude for other things,” he told the media Sunday evening.
“So, the question on what we do in the recount continues to be a red herring and there are those who are still suggesting, notwithstanding the decision, that we should do a numerical count, while they are shouting transparency. And so the question arises, you are screaming transparency, you are using the latitude of 162 and 22 to call for streaming, but then you want to take away that streaming when it comes to how we conduct the count.”
Alexander said if the opposition wants to be transparent, there should be no issue.
“What is it you want to hide in relation to matters such as taking the list which was used at the place of poll, on which list names were struck off, to determine how many persons turned up to vote and then check the actual ballots to see the correlation between the number of persons recorded and the number of ballots in the box. What is the difficulty in that and transparency? Why do you try to go to the RPA to exclude that and want and use 162 and 22 to include other things?” He asked.
The Commissioner said there is the recognition that should that be done, the probability of disparities between what is struck off on the list and what is in the box will surface. According to him, “people do not want this to be known.”
“And so, we have a very difficult situation, where there seems to be an agenda of what is being pursued [by the opposition]. But at the end of the day, we have finalised the plan and order but for that one thing.”
The commission meets again on Monday to finalise the process.
Government Commissioner, Charles Corbin, has reiterated the Guyana Elections Commission, (GECOM’s) readiness for the recount of ballots from the March 2nd 2020, Regional and General Elections.
GECOM on Saturday met with representatives from political parties who contested the elections, to iron out any concerns or issues they may have had.
Responding to questions from the local media, following the meeting, Corbin said most of the issues raised by party representatives had already been considered by GECOM, and pronouncements were made, with only a few to be straightened out.
He stated that while GECOM took no pre-determined position on any matter, the body has put measures in place to deal with any hiccup. It has established a “Problem Resolution Procedure” which must be followed.
Explaining the procedure, Corbin said “If a problem arose with a counting staff and the party representative during the count, the counting staff is to report to the District Supervisor, but if the matter could not be resolved, then the Chief Elections Officer will be approached. And if the matter still could not be resolved at that level, then it will be taken to the Commission itself.
Corbin said once this happens, and the Commission makes an intervention and pronouncement, it will be final.
“We have established appropriate procedures for the handling of any issue that arises,” he reiterated.
Corbin said GECOM anticipates one particular issue that may come up, has to do with its six-digit stamp. “We anticipate that is likely to come up and we will make a determination on that when we see it in reality.”
Following the election, Corbin said GECOM received reports that the six-digit stamp in a number of instances was defective (and) may (have) impacted the stamping of the ballot.
In the meantime, responding to questions about likely stuffed ballot boxes and valid or invalid votes, Corbin said the commission had very early on determined what it would look at during the process of the recount.
“Everything that is observed will be documented to the extent that there will be a report that will come to the commission after that and depending on the evaluation of that report, the commission will decide how to treat a particular issue,” Corbin explained.
By Sunday latest, GECOM hopes to complete every aspect of its preparedness in anticipation for the Order to be gazetted, signalling the beginning of the recount of ballots.
er, Charles Corbin, has reiterated the Guyana Elections Commission, (GECOM’s) readiness for the recount of ballots from the March 2nd 2020, Regional and General Elections.
GECOM on Saturday met with representatives from political parties who contested the elections, to iron out any concerns or issues they may have had.
Responding to questions from the local media, following the meeting, Corbin said most of the issues raised by party representatives had already been considered by GECOM, and pronouncements were made, with only a few to be straightened out.
He stated that while GECOM took no pre-determined position on any matter, the body has put measures in place to deal with any hiccup. It has established a “Problem Resolution Procedure” which must be followed.
Explaining the procedure, Corbin said “If a problem arose with a counting staff and the party representative during the count, the counting staff is to report to the District Supervisor, but if the matter could not be resolved, then the Chief Elections Officer will be approached. And if the matter still could not be resolved at that level, then it will be taken to the Commission itself.
Corbin said once this happens, and the Commission makes an intervention and pronouncement, it will be final.
“We have established appropriate procedures for the handling of any issue that arises,” he reiterated.
Corbin said GECOM anticipates one particular issue that may come up, has to do with its six-digit stamp. “We anticipate that is likely to come up and we will make a determination on that when we see it in reality.”
Following the election, Corbin said GECOM received reports that the six-digit stamp in a number of instances was defective (and) may (have) impacted the stamping of the ballot.
In the meantime, responding to questions about likely stuffed ballot boxes and valid or invalid votes, Corbin said the commission had very early on determined what it would look at during the process of the recount.
“Everything that is observed will be documented to the extent that there will be a report that will come to the commission after that and depending on the evaluation of that report, the commission will decide how to treat a particular issue,” Corbin explained.
By Sunday latest, GECOM hopes to complete every aspect of its preparedness in anticipation for the Order to be gazetted, signalling the beginning of the recount of ballots.
