GECOM agrees to include 29 ECD SoRs in tabulation

Missing ancillary documents

…Chair keeps “every vote must count” commitment

The Guyana Elections Commissions (GECOM) has taken a decision to include the Statements of Recount (SoRs) from 29 Polling Stations between Ogle and Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, that were on hold as a result of the missing ancillary documents, in the tabulation exercise.

This was revealed by Public Relations Officer of GECOM, Yolanda Ward, on Sunday.
“It was noted that the Commission does not intend to disenfranchise any elector. However, the Commission will continue to investigate the matter,” Ward said.
Guyana Times understands that it was a majority decision by the seven-member Elections Commission. The Commission is comprised of three People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Commissioners, three APNU/AFC-nominated Commissioners and the Chair. That means that the GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, cast her deciding vote with the three Opposition-nominated Commissioners to allow the SoRs to be included in the tabulation process.
A similar situation was found in South Georgetown – APNU/AFC stronghold – and those votes were tabulated.
The areas from where the ancillary documents are missing include several of the People’s Progressive Party’s strongholds. Among the missing documents are poll books, counterfoils, the marked (ticked off) Official List of Electors.
GECOM had said that the ballots that were in those boxes were counted despite the missing documents which the Commission became aware of only after the boxes were opened on Friday.
Following discussions, the Commission had decided on Saturday that the SoRs prepared for those ballot boxes should not be included in the tabulation – a decision it overturned the following day.
The Commission had also directed the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, to investigate the matter.
GECOM said on Saturday that it checked the poll bags in hope of recovering those missing documents but they were not found. It summoned the DROs, who worked between Ogle to Lusignan to explain what transpired on Elections Day but those officers did not turn up to the meeting. However, GECOM has not published to names of the DROs who deliberately missed the meeting.
GEOCM has since claimed that efforts would be made to contact the Presiding Officers who were responsible for the respective Polling Stations.
However, several of the Presiding Officers have since indicated they were instructed by the Returning Officer’s (Clairmont Mingo) Clerk to hand over these documents to the Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) at the last minute despite them insisting that this was outside of their training.
Nevertheless, the POs sealed the ballot boxes with just the votes for their Stations and handed over the ancillary documents.
PPP/C Elections Agent, Anil Nandlall had said that this was raised with Mingo, who acknowledged the mistake and assured that it would be rectified.
However, Mingo, and even the CEO, has since denied that they are in receipt of the documents.

Presiding Officer speaks out
But Presiding Officer of Montrose Primary School, Wendy Ann has since taken to social media to dispute GECOM’s rhetoric on the issue.
She said in her social media post that “we were instructed by our DRO to not put the documents in the box.” She said that by now GECOM should realise that it could not be mere coincidence that all the POs under one particular DRO did the same thing.
“You’d expect the most two (2) POs to make the same mistake, but ALL??? These boxes were sealed in the presence of these DROs, yet, nobody can give account for the missing documents?? And now, the DROs released this joint statement saying they never instructed the POs to omit those documents?? I’ll leave that one for the smart people to figure out. Let’s hope they publish the names of these DROs and the joint statement they made.”
In a previous social media post, the PO contended that, “…All documents for the four (4) Polling Stations [at Montrose Primary] were submitted to the DRO as per instructions by the Clerk to the RO… The original SOP attached would explain the desperation to lie! This is beyond ridiculous now!
PS: The Presiding Officers were given specific instructions not to seal the ballot boxes without the DRO being present to verify what was placed in the boxes and these instructions were complied with,” Wendy Ann wrote on her Facebook page.
Meanwhile, a Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) who worked at the Chateau Margot Primary School Polling Place, ECD, has written to GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, informing her that they had received instructions to place ancillary documents separately from the ballot boxes.
DRO Paul Jaisingh said the instruction was passed down from the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo’s Clerk.
In his letter, he stated: “Please be informed that instructions were given by Miss Carlyn Duncan (Clerk to the Returning Officer Mr Clairmont Mingo-District #4) to include only unused, valid and rejected ballots in the ballot boxes. This was communicated to the respective Presiding Officers who complied. As a result, the other documents were placed in the bag provided. This instruction was given on Election Day a few hours before the close of the poll. Other Deputy Returning Officers affected by this decision can confirm the same.”