GECOM takes up 85% of recount time to process 50% of ballot boxes

…must now consider extending timeframe — Opposition

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at the end of Monday, day 20 of the National Recount exercise, completed recounting 82 more ballot boxes, bringing the total amount recounted to date to 1206 ballot boxes, which leaves 1333 more to be done.
With the allotted 25-day timeline set to expire on Saturday, it would mean that the electoral commission has spent more than 85 per cent of the allocated timeline to complete just over 50 per cent of the total amount of ballot boxes.
With 12 workstations up and running at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) venue, notable developments on Monday included the completion of the ballot boxes for Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) – two of the workstations had been dedicated to the recount of the ballot boxes for that electoral district.
As such, one of those stations has since been directed to begin counting ballot boxes for Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and the other to Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). This would mean that the recount exercise has completed recounting votes cast in Region One (Barima-Waini), Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam)—both of which confirmed victories for the Opposition People’s Progressive Party—and Region Five.
The only outstanding region to begin having its ballot boxes recounted is Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), while Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) continues to be the electoral district with the single highest number of ballot boxes to be addressed.

Breakdown
A breakdown of the counting stations at ACCC on Monday saw a total of 18 ballot boxes being recounted for Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara). Votes tabulated thus far for the region indicate another resounding lead for the Opposition PPP/C which has so far had 40,926 of its votes for that district recounted while the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) trails at 18,224 votes.
The counting stations responsible for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), completed its highest total in a single day since the recount exercise commenced three weeks ago, finishing 21 boxes.
Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), which saw the container housing its ballot boxes being opened for the first time on Monday, had the votes cast in seven of that district’s ballot boxes recounted.
Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) had 18 ballot boxes of that district’s votes counted while Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) had five boxes addressed.
Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) saw the votes cast in five of ballot boxes that electoral district recounted.
Six ballot boxes were addressed for Region Nine.
Addressing members of the media at the end of the day, PPP/C tabulation agent, Anil Nandlall expressed the hope that an additional two counting stations would be added by the Commission to the recount venue.
“Hopefully we get an additional two stations tomorrow [today] and we are hoping that both would be dedicated to the counting of Region Four ballots because as you know that is the largest number of ballot boxes to be counted.”
Pressing the need for additional stations to be housed at the venue in order to accelerate the recount activity, Nandlall stressed: “We are far behind the deadline.”
According to the former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, “there is no doubt anymore that the deadline with not be met, the 25-day deadline, even if we get the workstations, so GECOM has to now consider extending the timeframe unfortunately to complete the exercise.”