Elecciones en Guyana: el nuevo recuento de votos comenzó con irregularidades, urnas inundadas y acusaciones cruzadas
Region One Ballot box flooded, visibility of ballots likely affected
One ballot box from Region One was found filled with water on Wednesday morning as a result of a hole in the container which caused rainwater to get into the box over the last month. This is likely to affect the visibility of ballots and other materials contained in the box.
Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Yolanda Ward told the media at the Arthur Chung Conference Center that the discovery was made when the container was opened to start the recount process.
“What happened there is that upon inspection we found that the container that it was stored in, there was a hole right where that box was stored, apparently from the drippings through that container, it would have gotten into the ballot box,” Ward noted.
She said the water was drained from the box 1095. It is unclear how many persons voted at the polling station but it is possible that the visibility of the votes and documents will be affected.
“I am not sure how visible the contents of that box will be, it will only be determined when the box is actually opened,” the PRO said.
Guyanese cast their votes using a pencil to mark their X next to the party of their choice.
The recount process started on Wednesday morning after a two-hour delay.
The delay, according to Ward, was due to the heightened security at the Arthur Chung Conference Center.
She said systems will be put in place to ensure this does not happen again on Thursday.
“…later in the day I can provide an update as to what arrangements can be in place for tomorrow to ensure that party agents arrive early, to ensure that they go through that security check and to ensure that we have a prompt 8 O’ Clock start,” Ward noted.
There was also an issue with one party official being unable to locate their key to the container with ballot for boxes from South Georgetown in Region Four.
Another issue was experienced in Region Three where chains were on a container which did not belong to any political party.
Those chains were eventually cut by GECOM.
“No party owned the locks and chains on those containers and we had to cut those chains,” she said.
The recount process along with the opening of containers and ballot boxes are observed by political party agents and electoral observers.
Ballot boxes not being counted in sequential order; Shuman says attempts being made to derail Reg. 4 count
allot boxes are not being counted in sequential order, causing some political parties to believe that there is an attempt to derail the recount process, especially for Region Four.
APNU+AFC Executive Member David Patterson told reporters outside the Arthur Chung Conference Center Wednesday morning that the ballot boxes were not packed in sequential order inside the containers and so there was difficultly in locating the boxes labelled ‘One’.
“Unfortunately another delay will be because they were not packed sequentially and that will be another delay because they are starting from Ballot Box one, two and three so they will have to do some searching.
“They are right now going through containers for Region Three so as soon as they find the boxes with 3001, 3002 etc…” Patterson told reporters earlier.
Subsequently, Presidential Candidate for the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman confirmed that boxes for none of the regions are being counted sequentially.
He believes the stage is being set for the recount Region Four to be derailed, referring to heated exchanges in three recount stations Wednesday morning by party agents attached to the APNU+AFC that occurred simultaneously.
“There is a coordinated attempt by the PNC to derail Region Four count.
“It seems as though they had this down to a time that at such and such time, they’re going to engage in this because we know that the lady, her daughter and another agent all sought to disrupt the Region Four count at the very same time so that cannot be something by chance. It’s obviously an attempt to undermine and derail the Region Four count at this point.
“We are keeping a watchful eye on it,” Shuman told reporters.
The Presidential Candidate also expressed concern that the Statements of Recount (SORs) will not be sent to the tabulation center until the district is completely counted.
“We are going to be given SORs at the end of each count but when that is done, it is not going to the tabulation center which is unfortunate because our understanding is that we would always see a count as to how the votes are being tabulated.
“What we were made to understand is that when they’re done with one district, they’re going to take it to the tabulation center to be able to provide that data when it completed.
“That is very very unfortunate because I think the nation deserves to hear pretty much how the votes are being counted,” Shuman said.
The recount process is being scrutinized by a three-member CARICOM team and is expected to last for 11 hours each day for the next 25 days.
APNU+AFC Agent Carol Joseph disrupts Region Four vote recount process
APNU+AFC Agent Carol Joseph this morning disrupted the vote recount process of Region Four (Demerara Mahaica).
Joseph began behaving in a vociferous manner, yelling at other stakeholders present at one of the work stations.
She is heard telling another stakeholder: “who the hell is you? He has to listen to me. I am a stakeholder here!”
Presidential Candidate of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman, during an interview with media operatives, expressed concerns about an apparent attempt by the APNU+AFC coalition to derail the process .
“When we were at Ashmin’s building, there was a person who threatened (violence against other observers) …the lady and (other agents) all tried to disrupt the Region Four count at the very same time…So that could not just be something by chance…It is obviously an attempt to derail the count at this time.”
Joseph was already embroiled in controversy during the vote tabulation for Region Four when she allegedly provoked Executive member of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Jonathan Yearwood.
On the day in question, Joseph had spent the afternoon haranguing and harassing other representatives from other political parties- including some GECOM staff.
El presidente de Guyana se compromete a aceptar el resultado del recuento
El presidente de Guyana, David Granger, se comprometió este martes a aceptar el resultado del recuento de las elecciones regionales y generales celebradas el pasado 2 de marzo que comienza mañana, proceso que llevará a cabo la Comisión Electoral de Guyana (Gecom).
Granger, en un discurso al país, señaló que el recuento, paralizado por demandas judiciales ante un proceso electoral bajo sospecha de falta de transparencia e irregularidades, permitirá jurar un Gobierno elegido democráticamente.
El presidente de Guyana aseguró, sin embargo, que las controvertidas elecciones, supervisadas por grupos de observadores nacionales e internacionales, algunos de los cuales fueron expulsados del país, ‘fueron libres, justas y ordenadas’.
‘Los eventos posteriores resultaron en la prolongación del proceso electoral mucho más allá de la fecha límite para la declaración de resultados. Esa prolongación fue ocasionada por un retraso debido a impugnaciones legales en la Corte Suprema de Justicia y la Corte de Apelaciones’, aclaró.
EL PRESIDENTE NIEGA INTERFERENCIA
‘Siempre he cumplido con las decisiones de los tribunales. Nunca he interferido, intervenido o entrometido en el trabajo de la Comisión Electoral. Respeto su independencia y siempre he respetado la Constitución de Guyana, que es la ley suprema del país’, subrayó Granger.
La Gecom informó este martes de que la orden de recuento fue ya publicada y que eso despeja el camino para que comience el miércoles, a lo largo de un proceso que se prolongará durante 25 días.
La Gecom permitirá una transmisión de audio del recuento manual de las papeletas, mientras que cuando se comience la introducción de los datos al ordenador se transmitirán imágenes, de acuerdo con la orden.
La orden especifica que el recuento lo ejecuta la Gecom, mientras que un equipo de alto nivel de la Comunidad del Caribe (Caricom) supervisa el proceso.
Los representantes de los partidos políticos que participaron en las elecciones, el equipo de Caricom, los observadores acreditados y los miembros de Gecom son los únicos grupos a los que se permitirá participar en el proceso de recuento, de acuerdo con la orden.
En su alocución, Granger sostuvo que estaba satisfecho de que el equipo de alto nivel de Caricom que viajó a Guyana en marzo para observar el proceso electoral haya podido volver y que la Gecom esté preparada para ejecutar su mandato.
‘La Comisión Electoral debe poder realizar su trabajo de conformidad con la Constitución. Insto a todos los guyaneses a que sean pacientes mientras esperamos el resultado del recuento nacional ‘, concluyó Granger.
El subsecretario de Estado de EE.UU. para Asuntos del Hemisferio Occidental, Michael Kozak, pidió este lunes al Gobierno de Guyana que dé luz verde para el regreso de representantes del Centro Carter, especializado en la supervisión de procesos electorales, y de observadores del Instituto Republicano Internacional (IRI), organización en favor de la democracia, para garantizar un recuento electoral transparente.
LAS ELECCIONES SE CELEBRARON CON DOS PARTIDOS
Guyana celebró el pasado 2 de marzo elecciones generales y regionales, cita en la que dos partidos se jugaron la victoria, con el trasfondo de la disputa con Venezuela por la región de Esequibo.
El presidente y candidato de una coalición oficialista, David Granger, convocó las elecciones tras la presentación con éxito de una moción de no confianza en su contra en diciembre de 2018 -con 33 votos a favor y 32 en contra- por parte del opositor Partido Progresista del Pueblo (PPP), que tuvo en estas elecciones como alternativa a presidente a Irfaan Ali.
Tanto la oficialista Asociación para la Unidad Nacional + Alianza para el Cambio (APNU + AFC) como el opositor PPP se habían adjudicado la victoria en las lecciones del 2 de marzo.
A pesar de las fuertes críticas de los observadores internacional, la Gecom divulgó poco después de las elecciones unos resultados de los comicios que daban como ganador a la APNU + AFC, con un escaño más que el opositor PPP.
President attends emergency CARICOM meeting
President David Granger on Tuesday attended the Tenth Special Emergency Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) via video conference, the Ministry of the Presidency said.
The Heads of Government of CARICOM deliberated on the development of common regional policies and approaches related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
A Common COVID-19 Public Health Policy, a Procurement Protocol for the Consolidated Purchase of Prioritised Medical Devices and Supplies in the Context of COVID-19, a Regional Agri-Food Security Framework and a Common Protocol to Restart Intra-Regional Travel, both Air and Sea were among some of the other items listed on the agenda. President Granger was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings.
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