GECOM Chair Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh today declared yesterday’s poll to be free and fair but the elections secretariat has so far been able to provide only 5% of the results raising the prospects of a lengthy delay in the final result.
At a midday press conference, Public Relations Officer of GECOM, Yolanda Ward gave preliminary results coming from just 139 of the 2,339 polling stations which amounted to just 30,621 votes. Out of that number the incumbent APNU+AFC accounted for 19,139 and the opposition PPP/C 11, 032.
According to Justice Singh the March 2nd elections was well run “despite the many naysayers and many rough areas we had to endure to get here”. She asked that all be patient with the Commission as results have been trickling in and the process of verification is ongoing.
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield said while they have statements at the Commission many are still to be verified and before they make them public the parties will have to be given an opportunity to have recounts if they so desire.
He would not give a timeline on when the official results would be given.
Singh would only say that the Commission would “endeavour to do it as early as possible”.
