GECOM to sanitise ballot boxes in another delaying ploy

The Moses Nagamootoo-led National COVID-19 Task Force has approved the use of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) for the recount of the March 2 General and Regional Elections, but has limited the number of persons allowed to take part in the process to no more than 132 persons, for the counting of each of the 2339 ballot boxes.

The decision was communicated on Thursday by Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward, but experts have advised that the virus does not survive beyond one week on any surface and as such, this move can be seen as another delaying ploy.

However, providing an update to members of the media even as the Commission met, Ward disclosed that GECOM was in receipt of some 14 recommendations, in a report from the National Task Force.
According to Ward, while the Commission was looking to have no more than 14 persons present at each of the recount stations, this could not be done at two of the proposed ACCC rooms identified.

As such, the process at these two rooms has been limited to 10 persons, bringing the total number of persons approved for involvement in the process to 132.
Each of the other eight counting stations could be manned by 14 persons, according to the report.
These would include GECOM officials, party representatives, the Caricom delegation, and local and international observers.

There are 10 contesting parties in the still-to-be-declared 2020 General and Regional Elections.
According to Ward, included in the 14-recommendation report are the need for regular sanitisation, including of surfaces; general guidelines for waste disposal, and other COVID-19 preventative measures.

The GECOM PRO suggested this would inherently have to apply to the ballot boxes that are to be used in the recount.
She noted that “they (Task Force) haven’t spoken specifically to that, but given the recommendations in terms of the sanitisation of surfaces, I am sure that is part of our implementation plan.”

Ward explained, saying “as the boxes enter into the room, they will have some sort of protocol in terms of the sanitisation of those materials…”
Additionally, she told reporters there was no obligation for the persons taking part in the recount to be tested for COVID-19, as recommended in the report by the Task Force.

This, however, does not appear to apply to the expected delegation from the Caribbean Community (Caricom), since a decision by the Task Force to have those members be tested for COVID-19 in their respective home countries has already been communicated to Secretary General Irwin LaRocque.

That decision was taken following an intervention by ‘Caretaker’ President David Granger after Nagamootoo had originally demanded that the Caricom officials be subject to a two-week mandatory quarantine on arrival in Guyana.
Asked to pronounce on the likely start date for the recount, Ward disclosed that the Commissioners were in the process of finalising a draft order to be gazetted.

She noted, however, a likely start date for the recount of the elections would be influenced by the arrival date of the specially invited Caricom high-level delegation.
She was, however, unable to say whether Caricom has received a copy of the recommendations from the Task Force.

The recommendations by the Nagamootoo-led Task Force came after a team of health officials – along with GECOM Commissioners and Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, toured the ACCC on Monday last with a view to ensuring the venue could be used for the recount, taking into consideration the Executive COVID-19 orders.

Speaking with media operatives on Monday following the special site visit, Justice Singh said the visit was organised with the health officials of the Task Force, since “we need to ensure and guarantee the safety of the Caricom team; as soon as that is finished, we have to communicate what we have done to ensure the safety [of the delegation] to the Secretary General.”

The GECOM Chairperson was adamant that “the people are virtually afraid of contracting the virus, so that is why we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure their safety”.