…verification process suspended again, results delayed further
…to resume at 09:00h today, Friday 13th
…as EU requests to see GECOM’s SoPs based on statutory arrangement
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is being accused of flouting the ruling of acting Chief Justice Roxane George, and as such would be in contempt of court, since the Commission failed to resume the verification process for the Region Four election results using Statements of Polls (SoPs) as specified in her court order issued on Wednesday.
European Union Ambassador to Guyana, Fernando Ponce-Canto and US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch standing beyond the Police barricades after initially being prevented from entering the area on Thursday
According to Anil Nandlall, one of the Attorneys for the successful applicant, the exercise by the Commission began in earnest on Thursday to be in compliance with Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act with regard to ensuring the relevant personnel were present, but the Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo opted to use a spreadsheet as against the SoPs.
Nandlall contends that that move by the Commission constitutes contempt of the court, an offence that carries with it jail time.
Justice George, in her ruling, had declared, “I hold that there are primarily two explicitly mandatory requirements in s 84 (1):(i) that the total votes cast in favour of a list in the district must be done by adding up the votes recorded in favour of the list in accordance with the SoPs, and (ii) that thereafter there must be a public declaration of the said votes recorded for each list of candidates.
Observers, including members of the diplomatic community, being prevented from passing the barricades
“I agree with the dicta of Bernard CJ that the presence of all the persons listed in s 86 (1) is not required at the addition of the votes recorded on the SoPs, and that the RO has a discretion to determine who are persons who would have good reason to be present. It is also within his discretion as to which elections officers will assist him. I also agree with Her Honour’s conclusion that this aspect of the section is directory. But I would add, especially in this era that calls for greater transparency in the actions of public officials, once any of the persons entitled to be present attends, then the addition must be done in their presence. This would especially be the case where duly appointed candidates and/or counting agents of political parties attend. In this latter limited sense, I would say this aspect of s 84 (1) is mandatory, that is, non-compliance would warrant scrutiny and can result in the invalidity of the process.
“This may appear to be a fine distinction, but I feel it has to be made in the interests of the credibility of the process and in order to obviate the continued contentions regarding the tabulation and declaration of elections results. Posting of SoPs at the place of poll is one of the safeguards. The public tabulation of the SoPs is another.”
Acting Chief Justice George had ordered that the verification process resume by 11:00h on Thursday, but at 10:30h in the morning, the Commission was still trying to get a meeting going with the party representatives and observer missions.
Representatives were told that only a single person would be entertained in the meeting, which was readily agreed to by stakeholders.
During the ad hoc process at the Police barricades – east of the RO’s Office, several party representatives and Observers could be seen pleading with the junior ranks manning the cordon to be allowed entry.
Those persons, including a number of ambassadors, were held at bay until instructions could be had from senior GECOM officials before they were allowed in. Initially, they were told that they needed fresh accreditation to be allowed into the RO’s office.
Methodology
Shortly after noon, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) representative in the meeting, Kit Nascimento, told media operatives that the Commission, together with stakeholders, was still trying to work out the methodology with which to proceed.
He told media operatives that RO Mingo told the meeting that he was going to use a spreadsheet that was compiled using his SoPs and as such would not give the stakeholders present the requisite ability to “ascertain” how the figures were arrived at.
According to Nascimento, this was objected to by all and sundry present, before Mingo attempted to use the first spreadsheet that had initially been met with objections.
This too was met with a rejection on the part of the party representatives and observers before an intervention was made by GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, who had just arrived at the location.
According to reports, Justice Singh suspended the activity with a promised resumption after she would have been given a chance to read and interpret the written ruling handed down by Justice George the previous day.
By 16:00h Thursday afternoon, the party representatives and observers were asked to vacate the office before it was shuttered.
Suspended
Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Presidential Candidate Lennox Shuman, in a brief update to the media, lamented what appeared to be a stalemate at the level of the Commission.
According to Shuman, “we’ve been informed there is no sense in waiting, because we don’t know when that written ruling will be given and pending that ruling it would be for Madam Chair to go through the interpretation and then to decide on the process going forward.”
Shuman posited, however, that Justice George’s ruling was clear in that it was for the SoPs to be used; “however, when we got there today (yesterday), Mr Mingo wanted to resort to using the spreadsheet that was previously set aside by the Chief Justice yesterday”.
Recognising the time limit that had been set by the Chief Justice (ag) for the resumption of the verification process, Shuman disclosed that “up until 11:00h we had not commenced, we were still going through the process of figuring out who can and cannot be in the room”.
He suggested too that “there may have been a delay by Mr Mingo trying to advance the process”.
The LJP Presidential Candidate disclosed to the media also that the political parties, and representatives, despite making requests were not told where the GECOM’s SoPs for Region Four were physically located.
According to Shuman, the RO did earlier in the day indicate to his staff an instruction to retrieve the SoPs, but this was not done.
Leave the building
People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) GECOM Commissioner Saes Gunraj, at the close of Thursday’s activities, told media operatives that the process appeared to have been suspended indefinitely.
Speaking to reporters at approximately 16:00h, Gunraj indicated that the GECOM Chair had still not been in receipt of the written ruling that was handed down the previous day.
He told media operatives that the Commissioners were informed that they would be contacted “when they were ready to resume, but in the meanwhile, we were asked to leave the building”.
PPP/C GECOM Commissioner Robeson Benn, along with another party supporter, could later be seen leaving the building. Asked to speak to the physical whereabouts of the GECOM SoPs, Commissioner Gunraj was also unable to say. “Your guess is as good as mine,” Gunraj said. He told media operatives Mingo only presented the meeting with a sampling of SoPs “and then reneged on his further undertaking to get all of the SoPs”.
Resumption
Meanwhile, the Commission in a public statement on Thursday evening indicated that the tabulation exercise will be resumed today at 09:00h.
EU request
Meanwhile, in a formal request to GECOM, the European Union’s Observer Mission has since asked “to examine the Statement of Polls based on which you have prepared the spreadsheet of results before ascertainment of Region Four is completed”.
That request was penned by the Deputy Chief Observer Alexander Matus and cited provisions in the General Elections (Observers) Act in addition to an Administrative Agreement between GECOM and the EU Delegation.
