APNU seeking recount in areas lost to PPP/C – Norton

APNU Leader Aubrey Norton

Leader of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Opposition, Aubrey Norton, has disclosed that that party has requested recounts in some of the Local Authority Areas (LAAs) where it has suffered losses to the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) at the recent Local Government Elections (LGE).
One such area, according to Norton during a press conference on Thursday, is the Mahdia municipality in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). In that township, which is traditionally controlled by the PNC-led APNU, the PPP won the majority of votes, with 330, while the Opposition party secured 327 votes. This gives both parties an equal number of seats – two each – from the four constituencies in Mahdia.
“I know they asked for a recount in Mahdia… We were prepared to leave it as is, but…the PPP, in every area that they lost by four or five votes, asked for a recount. If in Mahdia we lost by one vote, why shouldn’t we ask for a recount? And so we’ve asked for a recount in that area,” the APNU Leader noted.
Based on results posted on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) website, in Constituency #2 (Mahdia Plateau East), the APNU lost by one vote. The ruling PPP/C obtained 92 votes in that area, while the APNU got 91.
On Wednesday, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of GECOM, Vishnu Persaud, indicated to Guyana Times that the Elections Secretariat is currently in the post-election process of dealing with recounts.
He revealed that five requests have been received for a recount – four from the PPP/C, and one from the APNU for Constituency #4 in Georgetown; that is, the Lamaha Gardens, Newtown Campbellville, Section K Campbellville & Bel Air Park areas. According to GECOM’s results, the PPP/C secured 968 votes against the 937 votes obtained by APNU in Constituency #4, but Norton is claiming that the numbers in this area were inflated.
“The numbers were very, very inflated… There are some miraculous numbers there…,” the APNU Leader has said.
Moreover, the Opposition wants a recount for the Plaisance/Industry LAA, where the APNU won the majority constituencies but the PPP/C received more votes in the constituencies in which they were victorious.
“In Plaisance/Industry, we won most of the constituencies. We won five out of nine. [But] having won five out of nine, the PPP was able to come into a tie because they had more in terms of the PR (Proportional Representation) votes. I did say to them that they should seek a recount…but I’m not aware [whether they did],” Norton stated.
Efforts by this newspaper to contact Persaud on Thursday to ascertain whether any additional requests for a recount were made by the APNU were futile. However, the Chief Elections Officer had related the previous day that the five recount requests that were received by GECOM at that time would be completed by today.
Meanwhile, during Thursday’s press conference, Norton, who is claiming that APNU has made inroads in some PPP strongholds across the country – something which was dismissed by the ruling party — also highlighted issues regarding seat allocation in some areas from Monday’s local government polls.
However, when questioned about this, the Opposition Leader opted not to elaborate, stating that the information is still being analysed.
“We’re going to do a comprehensive report on all the areas where there were miscalculations [of seat allocation] etc. We have done some. At present, we have some recounts going on, so I don’t think I should comment on that at this stage,” he posited. Pressed further on the matter, Norton contended, “…at the end of this process, there are still things being done, we are going to give a report on that. I don’t think it’s wise for me to get into details when it’s inconclusive… We have conclusive evidence, and we will issue a complete report…” (G-8)