Ballots in 40 boxes were counted today at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), where the recount of votes cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections is taking place.
Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward, said that 9 boxes containing ballots from Region One (Barima/Waini); 10 from Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam); 9 from Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara); and 12 from Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica), were completed.
Ward reported that the process was a “smooth one”. Today’s activities began at around 08:15hrs.
She informed the media also, that the tabulation process commenced this afternoon. Persons were able to see the number of votes received by each contesting party, thus far.
The Commission decided that the tabulation process will be conducted each day between 5pm and 6:30pm. It is a simultaneous process, she said, noting that one screen will project the Statements of Recount (SORs) and another will display an Excel file where numbers will be inserted.
She noted, also, that an Observation Report (OR) will be displayed with each SOR. This report, as the name suggests, includes several issues that would have arisen during the recount process.
The ORs, although being displayed publicly via livestream, are not read.
Ward said that measures will have to be put in place to ensure that the public can discern what is contained therein.
“So, we have to look at mechanisms to how we improve that, so that persons can really benefit from what those observations were, as it relates to that specific box,” she explained.
At the end of yesterday’s exercise, some 25 boxes containing ballots were counted. Seven boxes were completed for Region One; six for Region Two; seven for Region Three; and five for Region Four.
