‘National Recount can’t be done in 12 days, much less 10’ – Alexander

Since the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has undertaken to facilitate a national recount of votes cast in the March 2020 Elections, several proposals have come to the fore, but Commissioner Vincent Alexander believes that those which speak to timelines of 10 and 12 days are unrealistic.

One of the most recent proposals to come to the fore was placed by the Guyana Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) for 12 days.

The Institute proposed a 24-hour, non-stop process through which 37 teams would work on 12-hour shift rotations with 3 hours for lunch break or shift change. Based on the institute’s plan, it will take an average of 1 hour and 5 minutes to recount each of the 2,339 ballot boxes.

Region Four, the Region with the highest number of electors, would have 12 teams altogether but 4 teams working simultaneously in the four main groups of South Georgetown, North Georgetown, East Bank, and East Coast and rotating on the 12-hour shift.

In the proposal, the Institute said that a total of 74 personnel are required for the 37 teams which would ensure each team has 2 staff members, 1 Presiding Officer and 1 Clerk. It stated that this is an insignificant amount of human resources given GECOM’s personnel size.

The proposal has received the signature of seven small parties with no sign of support from the main opposition or governing political party.

Speaking to Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Alexander said that, while the Institute’s proposal has not been formally reviewed by the Commission, from his inspection, he can tell that it caters merely for a numerical recount but the Commission has other benchmarks to attend to.

“Our recount requires us to check off the ballots against the list and the names which are marked on the list. Their proposal falls short of what we intend to do in terms of the recount,” he said.
That apart, Alexander made it clear that GECOM is the constitutional body responsible for the conduct of elections, and as such only the Elections Commission can lay the ground rules.

“People cannot take a proposal to us without knowing what is required but dictate what we do. We are the organization that has a mandate to conduct the recount. Anybody proposing to us has to respond to what we want to do; they can’t send a proposal saying what they think we should do. That is absurd. If they are serious about a proposal, they would have to make a proposition themselves to us [stating] ‘could you say what is it you want done?’ We would then present a proposal to respond to that,” he explained.

Whether or not the Institute’s proposal has received the support of small parties, the Alexander said that the same position applies.

Added to this, he observed that the 24-hour, continuous recount proposed by the GBPI has excluded the fact that any operation of the Commission must consider threat of COVID-19 and the emergency measures in place which speak to a nationwide curfew for individuals and organizations.

He said that in the case of a 24-hour operation, GECOM must first receive permission for its staff from the relevant authority.

Meanwhile, the Opposition-nominated Commissioners have proposed a 10-day timeframe in which they believe the recount can be conducted. It would see 20 simultaneous counting stations with about 1 hour spent on each box for 12 hours per day.

“That [the Institutes’ proposal] in itself suggest that there is something wrong with the 10-days. If these people are proposing 12 days with 24-hour operation, that alone in terms of the proposal of the Opposition is equivalent to 24 days,” he said.

Alexander said that with changes made to the original guidelines given to Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, for the crafting of a draft proposal, it is likely that the 156-days duration would be reduced.

In submissions made, Opposition-nominated Commissioner, Robeson Benn had proposed: “two (2) paired Commissioners must initial the recount statement of poll, and two (2) paired Commissioners to sign accepted tabulation forms.”

Alexander had noted that it was those specifics of Benn which led to Lowenfield’s calculation of 156 days. While speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, the Commissioner also addressed the call of the Opposition, some small political parties, the Institute and the Private Sector Commission that the CEO, Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers and District Four Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo be excluded from the process.

The Commissioner said that GECOM has not yet decided who will be involved in the recount process and the Commission cannot respond to outside forces when this has not yet been discussed internally. Even so he said that GECOM employees have statutory obligations to conduct their tasks.

Meanwhile, while some have contention with the chronological order in which the votes will be recounted, Alexander said that the said order is in keeping with the aide-memoire signed between President David Granger and Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo and facilitated by CARICOM.

In the said agreement, he reminded, it was not a partial but a full recount that was agreed to.