Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Vincent Alexander, confirmed that recount of the March 2nd, General and Regional Elections will begin on Wednesday, May 6.
Emerging from an hours-long commission meeting on Sunday, Alexander said the operational plan and final order for the recount are completed, with the Order set to be gazetted on Monday, after the issue of live streaming is further addressed.
Although a decision was already taken on the matter, GECOM’s Chairman Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh will on Monday make a pronouncement in writing to commissioners, in what is expected to be the final say on the matter.
However, Alexander said the Chairman is leaning towards an audio broadcast instead of a live stream, as she has chosen to “lower the tempo of aggression” displayed in the media including social media, especially towards her.
Amid the continuous regurgitation by opposition commissioners, of issues already decided on, Alexander said the Chairman’s pronouncement today summarized what was previously resolved.
That includes the intermittent broadcast of the process. Justice Singh also expressed the desire to have the ballot boxes viewed when they are out of the containers so that persons can confirm that there was no tampering with the seals.
Commissioner Alexander meanwhile, addressed what he said are some “troubling things” being expressed by the opposition side.
He said the recount is being conducted under Section 22 of the Representation of the Peoples’ Act (RPA) and Article 162 of the Constitution. However, there are persons who are trying to “use” 162 of the Constitution and Article 22 of the RPA at their convenience.
“There is no provision for streaming in any of the legislation. So if we are talking about streaming, we can only go to 162 of the Constitution and the RPA 22 which gives the commission latitude. (But) the very people who have agreed to the use of the latitude are also seeking to object to the very latitude for other things,” he told the media Sunday evening.
DPI
