A high-level team from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is expected to arrive in Guyana today to observe the national recount of the ballots cast at the March 2 polls.
Cynthia Barrow-Giles
This was confirmed by GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward, who noted that “the specifics of the flight details are not known at this point in time”.
The team will comprise Cynthia Barrow-Giles, a Senior Lecturer at the University of the West Indies; John Jarvis, a Commissioner at Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, and Sylvester King, a Supervisor of the Electoral Commission of St Vincent.
When asked if the delegation will comprise more
John Jarvis
individuals, GECOM’s PRO said “the information received is what I communicated. There were no further details”.
The team had requested and gotten approval from the country’s COVID-19 Task Force for a chartered flight to bring them to Guyana.
The announcement of a starting date for the recount exercise is dependent on the arrival of the team.
GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander, during a recent engagement with media operatives, was hopeful that the recount would begin within two days of the delegation’s arrival.
Sylvester King
Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque had informed the country’s COVID-19 Task Force that the members of the team would be tested in their respective countries, using the World Health Organisation (WHO)-approved PCR COVID-19 test.
Additionally, the Secretary General made a request for the WHO-approved PCR COVID-19 test to be administered to the team before they depart Guyana.
GECOM had decided upon 25 days for the recount exercise which will take place at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
It was decided that there would be 10 workstations; eight would be able to accommodate a maximum of 14 persons while two would only be able to accommodate 10 persons at any given time.
