With the allotted 25-day timeline set to expire on Saturday, it would mean that the electoral commission has spent more than 85 per cent of the allocated timeline to complete just over 50 per cent of the total amount of ballot boxes.
With 12 workstations up and running at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) venue, notable developments on Monday included the completion of the ballot boxes for Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) – two of the workstations had been dedicated to the recount of the ballot boxes for that electoral district.
As such, one of those stations has since been directed to begin counting ballot boxes for Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and the other to Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). This would mean that the recount exercise has completed recounting votes cast in Region One (Barima-Waini), Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam)—both of which confirmed victories for the Opposition People’s Progressive Party—and Region Five.
The only outstanding region to begin having its ballot boxes recounted is Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), while Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) continues to be the electoral district with the single highest number of ballot boxes to be addressed.
Addressing members of the media at the end of the day, PPP/C tabulation agent, Anil Nandlall expressed the hope that an additional two counting stations would be added by the Commission to the recount venue.
“Hopefully we get an additional two stations tomorrow [today] and we are hoping that both would be dedicated to the counting of Region Four ballots because as you know that is the largest number of ballot boxes to be counted.”
Pressing the need for additional stations to be housed at the venue in order to accelerate the recount activity, Nandlall stressed: “We are far behind the deadline.”
According to the former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, “there is no doubt anymore that the deadline with not be met, the 25-day deadline, even if we get the workstations, so GECOM has to now consider extending the timeframe unfortunately to complete the exercise.”
