APNU/AFC refuses to sign off Region 2 recount after approving all SoRs

…refusal does not invalidate count – Commissioners concur

The governing coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) on Wednesday refused to sign off on the “Certificate of District Tabulation” for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) despite approving all Statements of Recount (SoRs).
Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioners have since confirmed that the coalition’s refusal does not invalidate the recount.
The Certificate, dated May 20, documents that after the recount of the votes cast in that region at the March 2 General and Regional Elections, the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) secured 18,785 of the 26,491 valid votes found to be cast in the district.
APNU/AFC managed to secure 7340 votes from the region—a difference of more than 11,000 votes.
The Certificate was signed, however, by Dr Frank Anthony for the PPP/C while Dexter George signed on behalf of Change Guyana for its 151 votes, representing the third highest number of ballots cast for an individual party in the region.
Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Leader Lenox Shuman signed on behalf of his party and its 121 votes while Mark France of A New and United Guyana (ANUG) accounted for his party’s 85 ballots.

The United Republican Party was represented by Rawle Aaron, and that party picked up 64 votes. The People’s Republican Party (PRP) secured 64 votes also and was represented on the Certificate by J Balak while Rhonda-Ann Lam represented the Citizenship Initiative which picked up 18 votes in the electoral district.
GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander, during a subsequent radio interview, was asked by the moderator, Dr Yog Mahadeo, to address the predicament.
He likened the situation to that of the national registration exercise that had taken place under the laws of Guyana that provided for a verification period.
According to the Government-nominated Commissioner, the Opposition refused to participate and later complained.
He juxtaposed that activity and its legal implication with the national recount exercise currently underway at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
The Government-nominated Commissioner at the electoral body reminded that the process was being conducted under the Constitution of Guyana in concurrence with related election laws.
As such, “if a party withdraws, then one of the things that faces us is that we are engaging a legal process and a party does not want to engage.”
According to Alexander, “I am not saying that is the position, but certainly, it puts us in that position.”
He noted additionally that as a Commission, there would not be ten separate declarations by regions, as is the case under the conventional process, but rather “what we will do is to receive those tabulations”.
He said having deliberated at this time, the Commission would then do one declaration.
PPP/C-nominated GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj, in an invited comment, also downplayed the failure to sign off on the certificate by APNU+AFC, saying it would not invalidate the recount result.

Day’s activities
Meanwhile with the addition of two more counting stations supplementing the recount’s original 10, at the end of day 15 another 71 boxes were counted, five less than the previous day.
Region Six saw the highest number of ballot boxes being recounted by its designated counting stations – 20, while another 18 boxes were completed for Region Three.
Six boxes were completed for Region Seven while 13 more were done by the stations while Region Four had 14 more of its ballot boxes completed.
Total votes recounted for that Region to date sees the PPP/C with 20,203 votes while the coalition has so far secured 21,181 votes in the District.