General Secretary of the Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, has said that renewed efforts will be made by his party to have additional resources allocated to the recount process; especially as it relates to District Four, to ensure that it is completed in a transparent and expeditious manner.
During a virtual media conference today, Jagdeo again lamented the fact that the national recount of votes cast in the March 2, polls, is moving “very slow” and this could be due to deliberate efforts by a few to have the process stalled.
He pointed to District Four in particular, which he said is being deliberately being delayed. Jagdeo explained that even though this is the largest electoral district in the country, enough resources are not being allocated to ensure that the ballots are counted for this region in an expeditious manner.
“Part of APNU’s plan is to delay the count of Region 4, …to tamper with the results of Region 4,” he told the media.
In relation to the additional two workstations which were approved by the COVID-19 Taskforce, Jagdeo said he was hoping that these would have been allocated to counting the ballot boxes for District Four, but “for some strange, inexplicable reason, the Chair decided to assign one to Region 6 and one to Region 7.
The General Secretary is adamant that the recount venue could easily accommodate at least six more workstations, and said his party will continue to press GECOM in this regard.
“We are very concerned with the pace of the recount; and about the COVID-19 Taskforce seeming to control what is happening at the recount venue,” he said.
Jagdeo also argued that the proposed 25-day timeline would not be possible if the additional workstations are not provided immediately to speed up the process.
He expressed fear that the CARICOM scrutineer team may not be able to be present here for an extended period.
He also used the opportunity to call on GECOM to approach the COVID-19 Task force directly for the return of the international observers to oversee the recount process.
