PSC calls on Top Cop to ensure safety at Convention Centre

While no date has been set for the pending recount of ballots cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) is calling on Police Commissioner Leslie James to ensure the safety and security of persons who would be involved in the process, as well as for the security of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), where the recount would be conducted.

After selecting this Convention Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown to be the site for the recount, the seven commissioners of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) visited the site on Wednesday, and GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, expressed satisfaction with the location.

The ACCC was initially earmarked as the site

for the CARICOM-brokered recounted last month, but the exercise had to be abandoned and has now been deemed illegal by the Court of Appeal. Nevertheless, with GECOM preparing to conduct a national recount of all the votes cast more than six weeks ago, the PSC on Friday asked the Top Cop to ensure security is in place during the exercise.
“The Private Sector Commission therefore calls upon the Commissioner of Police to ensure that every possible precaution is taken to guarantee the safety and security of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, the persons of the stakeholders involved, and the process being conducted against any possible attempt to disrupt the procedures being put in place for the recount”, a statement from the private sector body detailed.
The Private Sector Commission has lauded the Elections Commission for going ahead with the recount, and the Chair, for having arrived at a decision to move forward on this matter.
On Friday, Justice Singh decided that there would be 10 counting stations engaged in the process. The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic had recommended 20 stations, while one Government-nominated Commissioner had suggested there be eight stations.
According to the PSC, the body, as an accredited observer, remains committed to its responsibility to observe the exercise and ensure that the recount is credibly conducted in accordance with the law, and reflects the will of the people who cast their ballots in the elections.
The private sector body also lamented the unprecedented delay in declaring credible results from the March 2 elections. “It is now 47 days since General and Regional Elections took place without GECOM having declared a final result. It is imperative, therefore, for the country’s future, wellbeing and stability, that the recount is concluded without any further controversy and interruption, and that the newly elected government takes office without further delay,” the Commission stressed.
The PSC is among several local bodies that were accredited to observe the March 2 elections, and that body had spoken out against the fraudulent declaration of the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) results, which have since been set aside by the court, paving the way for GECOM to conduct a national recount.