Georgetown: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo has called on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chai Justice Claudette Singh urging to assert her authority in ensuring the recount of votes is a free of electoral fraud, transparent and timely.
In a letter to the GECOM Chairperson, Jagdeo questioned her email dispatched to GECOM Commissioners on Friday noting that she had announced that no more than 10 work stations would be used for the recount, but there was no mention of when the recount would start and for how long.
Instead, Jagdeo noted that such a serious decision was deferred to a politician in the form of former Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo who Heads the COVID 19 National Task Force.
This, the PPP noted leaves a serious loophole to be exploited by those bent on rigging the elections once more.
“You have also given no guidance on the issue of transparency, which is so vital to the integrity of the process. We reiterate that telecasting or live streaming of the process in its entirety will enhance the transparency of the process to a great extent. Additionally, you have made no recommendation [for] how the process would be effectively oversighted by the representatives of the political parties,” the PPP noted.
In the letter, it was pointed out that the mere presence of party agents is insufficient, as they must be able to scrutinise the tabulation process and the inputting of data to ensure that the correct total is calculated.
They noted that this would prevent what happened during the count of the Region Four votes, when Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo deviated from the Statements of Poll (SoPs) and began using a spreadsheet with numbers that did not match the SoPs.
“Your email has raised more questions than it provided answers, however, I must convey our profound disappointment [in you] ceding a large part of your responsibility in this exercise to some anomalous Task Force established by Nagamootoo. If at all, you should be informing that Task Force of your plans,” the letter underscored.
“The world knows that Mr Nagamootoo is part of that cabal working assiduously to prevent the disclosure of the credible results of these elections because he stands to benefit by squatting longer in office. Consequently, he has a vested interest in ensuring the prolongation of this exercise.”
Questioning GECOM’s disregard for provisions in the Representation of the People Act despite her being a former Judge, the party urged that she re-examine their proposals and implement recommendations that will aid the timely conclusion of the exercise, rather than hinder it. This includes the removal of “politically toxic and tainted” persons from the Secretariat and their replacement by neutral staff.
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