Guyana Elections 2020

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is aiming to complete a full national recount of votes cast at the March 2 polls in 25 days.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) yesterday wrote to Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh urging a 10-day recount of votes and for the process to start in the four districts where there had originally been requests for recounts.

After a full day of going through the “minutiae” of the proposed work-plan, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has still not finalized the timeline for the National Recount of votes from the March 2nd polls instead it will meet again today to settle this and the Order which will govern the process.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is expected to meet  today to discuss the draft order for the proposed recounting of votes for the 2020 General Elections and opposition- Commissioner Sase Gunraj is hoping for  finality on the terms so that the counting can begin soonest.

Presidential candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Irfaan Ali, on Monday said that there have been enough delays in the post-elections crisis and “undemocratic forces will not succeed” as he called for the will of the people to be honoured.

The members of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are expected to spend today working on a draft Order, the provisions of which will guide the National Recount of votes from the March 2nd general elections.

-10-hour work day approved, 14-day quarantine for CARICOM observers reversed Following the approval of a 10-hour work day and the reversal of a decision to quarantine CARICOM observers for 14 days,  the Guyana Elections Com-mission (GECOM) is one step closer to executing a national recount of votes cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections. 

Despite the continuing contentions over the recount of votes from the March 2 polls and the challenges posed by a curfew imposed to tackle the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the self-styled ‘Guardians of Democracy’ remain committed to safeguarding the containers of ballot boxes stored at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Headquarters at Kingston, Georgetown.

The opposition PPP last night condemned the proposed limiting of hours for the recount of votes from the March 2nd general elections by de facto Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and also flayed his contention that observers entering the country for the process will have to be quarantined for two weeks.

De facto Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan has said that Guyana will over the next few months have to reprioritize the use of its financial resources and possibly access the Natural Resources Fund as it copes with the impact of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has voiced its concern to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, retired justice Claudette Singh, over her decision to approaching the National COVID-19 Task Force via Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo with a “request” for advice on working hours during the proposed national recount of ballots cast at the March 2 polls.

The long-awaited recount of votes from the March 2 general elections will be conducted using no more than 10 workstations, according to the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired judge Claudette Singh, but it remains unclear when the process will begin and how long it will last.

By the end of today, the world is expected to finally have a clear indication on the next step in Guyana’s protracted 2020 General and Regional Elections (GRE) when the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) publicizes the timeline and other logistical arrangements for the holding of the national recount.

The Commonwealth observer group which was accredited to the March 2 General Elections yesterday urged that GECOM undertake the long-awaited recount of votes in full compliance with the Representation of the People Act and a credible manner.

Declaring that “time is of the essence,” and that “the constitutional clock is ticking,” the Bar Council of the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) has issued a call for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to expeditiously enable an accurate and transparent declaration of results from the March 2nd elections.

GECOM is today expected to make a long-awaited final decision on a plan for the recount of votes at the March 2nd elections.

In his latest call for democracy to be upheld here, Acting Assistant Secretary for the U.S.

The Head of the OAS observer mission at the March 2nd elections, Bruce Golding  yesterday expressed concern that an accurate result has not been determined six weeks on and said this was crucial to restoring Guyana’s position as an “internationally respected democracy”.

As another statutory electoral deadline draws closer, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has still not decided on the logistics of the proposed recount of votes cast on March 2, 2020.

After an uproar over the proposed 156 days for a recount of ballots from the March 2nd general elections, the opposition-nominated members of the Guyana Elections Com-mission (GECOM) yesterday presented for discussion a counter proposal which would reduce the number of days for the process to 10.