The Returning Officer (RO) for Region Eight Dwayne Marco has denied a request by PPP/C for a recount of votes in that electoral district, while saying he has full confidence in the polling day staff and the heavy scrutiny of the tabulation process.
Stabroek News understands that Marco is one of several ROs to whom the PPP/C wrote requesting recounts of votes from Monday’s elections, which were won by the APNU+AFC alliance according to preliminary results released by the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom).
Marco informed Amerindian Affairs Minister Paul Sukhai, the PPP/C’s counting agent for the district, of his decision by letter on May 14th.
Despite Marco’s decision, Sukhai at a press conference yesterday, produced figures which suggested that the party was robbed of 109 votes.
According to the preliminary results released by Gecom, the PPP/C received 1,727 votes and APNU+AFC coalition 1,837. It was while President Donald Ramotar was addressing members of the media that Sukhai received a piece of paper and there was a bit of excitement as she and Dr. Leslie Ramsammy stood reading it. After a few seconds of interruption, the president allowed her to address the media to share information that she had.
Sukhai did not share the source of this information but told the media that their count awarded 1,837 votes to the coalition and 1,836 votes to the PPP/C, a difference of one. Later Stabroek News was able to verify that these numbers were received from Ronald Harsawack, the party’s assistant elections agent. In an email to Ganga Persaud, Harsawack said that he was “perturbed” to learn that the results released by Gecom was “contrary to what we have witnessed and signed off to.” He said that he sat with the RO and went through the numbers box by box. He insisted that the numbers, which showed a one vote difference, were what signed off and declared at the office of the RO on May 14th.
Stabroek News obtained a copy of Marco’s letter, which states that the request for a recount is being rejected due to unreasonable grounds. “I object to the recount of polls since I have full confidence in the integrity of the polling day staff under the employment of the Guyana Elections Commission in the execution of their tasks on Elections Day, May 11. Additionally results were tabulated under heavy scrutiny from party agents and international observers which makes it highly impossible for the statement of polls to be deemed fraudulent in any form,” he wrote.
Marco clarified that the excess votes casted at specific polling stations represented those of polling day staff who used a Certificate of Employment issued by Gecom. The PPP/C has called for a recount citing irregularities with their tabulation when compared with the preliminary results given by Gecom. It is now calling for a manual count of all votes casts in the just concluded polls.
