APNU/AFC now objects to its own voters

– FITUG calls for recount to be hastened

As the National Recount of the votes cast at the March 2, 2020 elections continues at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, APNU/AFC agents have objected to their own votes.
According to reports, a coalition agent (name withheld) objected to 24 names of persons that supposedly voted at the Belladrum Secondary School, West Coast Berbice.
The agent objected on the grounds that the persons, whom he identified by the corresponding GECOM serial number, were, in fact, out of the country.
it was eventually discovered that the ballot box in question contained 250 votes for APNU/AFC while the PPP had only gotten three votes from that constituency while two other parties contesting the district secured a combined total of three.
It would mean that the APNU/AFC agent could only be objecting to at least 19 votes cast for the APNU/AFC.
Additionally, reports that a couple from Berbice, who was listed as voted on Elections Day but were not in the country, turned out to be fictitious when media reports surfaced that the couple was, in fact, in the country and spent the day at home after voting.
There were separate reports of a similar nature, including one where an APNU/AFC agent objected to a vote that was cast by an individual who turned out to be an open supporter of the coalition, as evidenced by photographs of the person gyrating on stage at an APNU/AFC rally.
The APNU/AFC agent at the counting station had earlier in the exercise made an objection, claiming that the person had, in fact, migrated.
The Region One resident was later found to have never left the country.
PPP/C counting agent Anil Nandlall later lamented the state of affairs and quipped that it appears to be a competition now between the various APNU/AFC agents “to outmatch each other with these allegations and objections.”
He suggested, “it is as if there is a competition to see who will raise or who will manufacture a more bizarre objection because as the process unfolds, the objections are becoming more and more outrageous.”

Day 14: 76 boxes
At the end of the day—day 14 of the National Recount Exercise—GECOM managed to complete 76 boxes, its single highest number of ballot boxes recounted in a day since the exercise commenced.
This was credited to the coming on stream of two additional workstations, bringing the total to 12 stations accommodating the recount exercise at the ACCC.
With Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Two completed, GECOM recounted a total of 18 boxes for Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 14 from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), 18 each for Regions Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), while an additional eight ballot boxes were recounted for Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Region Four continues to be the electoral district with the highest number of ballot boxes to be recounted, now standing 708.

Hasten counting
Meanwhile, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) on Tuesday also lamented the slow progress being recorded as it regards the National Recount of ballots cast in the 2020 National and Regional Elections.
The Union umbrella body observed that “with the process now beyond the half-way intended timeline, it is disconcerting to record that about a quarter of the ballots cast have actually been counted.”
As such, FITUG has since called for the recount process to be hastened while ensuring that its transparency and credibility are maintained, saying “our nation and its people should no longer be held hostage by the absence of credible electoral results. We have several challenges confronting us and we should not continue to be stymied by the absence of a legitimate Government.”