By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is “categorically” denying claims made by People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo to the effect that his party provided evidence that empty lots are at several of the addresses provided by potential voters.
First, it was the GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh who told the media that there was no evidence presented to her to show the claimed controversy regarding 6000 persons on the list.
Jagdeo was then interviewed by the media.
When asked about the evidence to support the claims being made by the PPP regarding the unverified voters, Jagdeo said that his party is equipped with the relevant proof and that that proof was shared with GECOM.
He said, “We shared several names, I can give you four names now. I can go into my phone and find four names at four addresses if you go to, you would not find a single house there.”
Even though Jagdeo did not bother to go into his phone and give the media the information, he said, “We have the evidence. It was shared at GECOM and if you are going to go on a verification exercise to verify 16,000 names, your own staff say we have only been able to verify 10,000 it means the other 6000 remain unverified. Her (the Chair) staff said that it is not the PPP.”
Jagdeo said that the PPP has already informed the international community about that and other matters which his party will “pursue to the end.”
But, it was not just GECOM Chair who denied Jagdeo’s claims.
After speaking to Jagdeo, the media questioned Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield.
The CEO said, “There are no empty lots.”
He told the media that no evidence was provided to GECOM to support PPP’s claims.
Lowenfield said, “The verification exercise that Madam Chair had approved indicated the duration that saw GECOM, along with scrutineers from the governing party and the opposition, they went into the field.
He said that GECOM workers did not make any reports of empty lots, neither did scrutineers from the governing coalition. Only PPP found empty lots.
“I am saying categorically, no evidence has been provided to GECOM comprising of Chair, Commission, and Secretariat,” said Lowenfield. Therefore, according to him, not even the PPP members sitting on the Commission provided evidence.
