The request by Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh for additional workstations has been denied by the National COVID-19 Taskforce (NCTF).
Coordinator of the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC), Dr. Colin James said in a recent statement that upon visiting the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), some of the recommendations are not being adhered to. Therefore safety is paramount with the decision made in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“… public safety and wellness remain the primary focus to mitigate the negative impact and to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Dr. James noted.
Based on the two reports compiled from previous visits to the ACCC on April 21 and May 15 gave further reasons for the decision. The taskforce “determined that it cannot concede to the request for the installation and operation of additional workstations and increase the number of persons in the ACCC during the period of the recount.”
To date, the recount for Regions 1, 2, 3, and 5 are completed while Regions 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are yet to conclude.
As of Wednesday, a total of 1,383 ballot boxes were completed with 956 remaining.
