Final national recount operational plan due tomorrow

DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, April 14, 2020

The Secretariat of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is expected to present the final draft of its operational plan for the national recount of votes in the March 2, 2020, General and Regional elections on Wednesday, as it sought clarifications on some matters today.

The commission met again to continue plans for the national recount of all votes. However, the secretariat, headed by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, raised some concerns about the process.

Commissioner Vincent Alexander said among the clarifications sought was the nature of the recount and the exact roles of the commissioners in the process.

Alexander said he had expected that the final documents would have been made available today.

The team was also expected to conduct a site visit to the proposed location, the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) today. That has been rescheduled to tomorrow.

Moving forward, Alexander related that the commission has already contacted CARICOM, and is awaiting a response.

He reminded that CARICOM will not be undertaking a supervisory role of the process, as it is only GECOM that can carry out that function. The regional body will only act as a third party to give “credence and credibility” to the process he clarified.

The CEO Keith Lowenfield last Thursday was asked to revise a draft operational plan in which he had proposed 156 days to carry out the recount.

That proposal was made in light of recommendations from PPP commissioners who had asked that three workstations be established during the recount to accommodate the presence of two commissioners each from both sides to oversee.

The proposal itself saw criticism from the very commissioner who made the recommendation.

The team meets again on Wednesday.