GECOM set to finalize recount order on Friday

An all day meeting at the Guyana Elections Commission has inched the process forward for the start of the recount.

While most of the issues pertaining to the recount order have been finalized, the Commission will meet again tomorrow to complete the order and make moves for its filing for gazetting purposes.

Commissioner Sase Gunraj complained this afternoon that the order does not appear to have a duration and he believes a duration should be attached to it and it not be left open ended.

“We are being told that we should calculate, to do a rough calculation and we will see how long it will take. When you do a rough calculation on the parameters that are being set out and suggested, it clearly runs you into over a month, which is unacceptable. And it is unacceptable because we owe better to this nation”, Gunraj said.

He added that there must be a set timeline for the completion of the process and everyone should work to ensure the recount process is completed within that period.

Gunraj said he still does not believe that the Commission ought to be following the guidelines of the National Coronavirus Task Force in its recount plan.

It was the Chair of the Commission who requested recommendations from the Coronavirus Task Force as the entire country is under curfew as part of the national effort to fight the pandemic.

Government nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander told reporters that while the Commission is moving forward with the systems and process for the recount, some Commissioners from the other side appear to be going back to issues already settled and that is slowing the process down.

Mr. Alexander also said that he is hoping that a start date for the recount could be decided on soon. He said there needs to be no more delays in moving ahead with the recount.

He explained that the Commission is now examining the order for the recount and an amended order that has since been put forward by Commissioner Gunraj. Alexander said that Gunraj draft order already appears problematic.

“There is an attempt to suggest in his draft that we should count district 4 and district 1 parallel and having counted those two, we should declare the results and then subsequent, we seek to count beyond. This flies in the face of all the logics of all of us”, Alexander said.

He said it is clear that there must be a conclusive count across the board to make a final declaration and that was already agreed.

This week marked 7 weeks since Guyanese voted in the 2nd March elections.