For the second time in three weeks, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has agreed to have every ballot cast in the March 2 general and regional elections recounted, raising hopes that an elections crisis that has gripped the country can finally be resolved and lead to the swearing in of a President more than a month after voting.
The modalities of this process, however, have not been decided. The commission had indicated that it would make these decisions yesterday afternoon but the scheduled continuation of the morning meeting was postponed since a decision was taken to “sanitize” the GECOM headquarters. No other meeting has been scheduled.
In a press statement, GECOM explained that Chairperson, Justice Claudette Singh, maintained that she would be unable to renege on her undertaking to Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire to facilitate a recount and there would therefore be a recount of all the regions in chronological order, i.e. Region 1 – Region 10.
The statement further explained that the decision was made against the backdrop of Article 162 (1) (b) of the Constitution of Guyana, which mandates the Commission to “take such action as appear to it necessary or expedient to ensure impartiality, fairness and compliance with the provisions of the Constitution.”
Following the decision, Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield was asked to provide a framework for the operationalization of the recount.
In response to this direction, Lowenfield requested guidance from the Commission on a number of legal and procedural issues in relation to the recount before he could proceed to operationalise the decision.
Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander clarified for the media that some of the matters which Lowenfield wished to have clarified related to the type of recount: whether it would be merely a numerical recount or consideration of everything within the ballot box.
He explained that there has to be a clear directive and an order from GECOM to the administration on this question.
“The administration has made it clear that we have to give them clear directions about what we mean by a recount and how we proceed with the recount. That has not yet been done, that discussion has started…We have to decide whether the recount is merely a recount of the votes or whether all the materials in the box will be taken into consideration. That is the proxies, the people who voted without ID cards and all of that,” he told reporters
According to Alexander since the recount will be operationalized under constitutional provisions instead of under the Representation of the People Act, it is not being dealt with under the normal procedure, Section 84 of that Act.
Alexander also said that the recount would not lead to an automatic declaration of the winner of the March 2 elections.
“That matter of what will happen at the end of the recount has not been addressed….that’s a question up in the air,” he said.
This comment was in direct contrast to the position of opposition-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj.
According to Gunraj while the method of declaration has to be decided “obviously the results of the recount will be the results of the elections.”
“The whole point of going to the recount is to establish the results of the elections because of the flawed procedure we have on our hands…the fact that we are moving to a recount the conjoined effect is that the previous declarations are set aside,” he stressed.
He added that for him the major concerns relate to re-engaging those international observers who were present for the polling and tabulation as well as whether a CARICOM high-level team would return to supervise the process.
At least one observer body has since indicated that it was willing to be present for a recount process.
Support
OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro tweeted support for the decision to undertake a recount and offered observer support. He also expressed hope that the recount process does not encounter obstacles.
“#OAS General Secretariat supports GECOM decision to carry out an integral recount in #Guyana. It’s an important step to grant legitimacy to #GuyanaElections & we hope the process encounters no obstacles. We offer support of @OAS_official observers & recognize work of @CARICOMorg,” the tweet noted.
The OAS’s observer mission to the March 2 general elections was led by former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding. It pulled out on March 13 in disgust at the way the tabulation for District Four had been handled by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
Two days later the Commission decided to have a national recount. This recount was to occur under the supervision of a high-level team from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which had been invited by President David Granger.
This process was halted after Justice Franklyn Holder granted APNU+AFC candidate Ulita Moore injunctions stopping a recount and preventing GECOM from altering the declaration made by the Region 4 Returning Officer Mingo.
The injunctions were granted just as the commission was contemplating a legal opinion from the Chief Parliamentary Counsel who had advised that the Commission could not gazette an Order legitimizing the recount.
The opinion claimed that since the agreement for a recount originated outside of the Commission it was unconstitutional and could not be implemented. Singh has since argued in her submission to Justice Holder that the decision to recount was always a GECOM process with CARICOM being merely the means by which it would be realized.
Justice Holder’s decision was overturned by the Full Court on Tuesday, paving the way for the recount to begin. Moore has since lodged an appeal of the Full Court decision with the Guyana Court of Appeal and a decision is set to be handed down tomorrow morning.
