No new recount stations and no new deadline for recount

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Monday examined ways in which the national vote recount could be accelerated given that it has not received clearance yet from the National COVID-19 Task Force to set up more recount stations.

There are currently 12 stations and the GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, had written to the Task Force to add two more stations.

It is now 20 days since the recount began, leaving just five days more out of the original 25-day timeline for the exercise. No new deadline has been announced even though it is highly unlikely that all the boxes will be completed. At the start of the 20th day, less than 50% of the 2,339 ballot boxes were counted.

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj said that the Commission will be looking to see how it can increase efficiency at the stations currently set up.

He pointed out that many of the stations wrap up work just after 17:00 h when they can work up to 19:00 h. Many of the stations wrap up work at that time because opening a new box could take them over the 19:00 h deadline.

It was already determined that boxes with a small number of ballots could be opened just after 17:00 h and be done before 19:00 h.

Gunraj said the Commission was also considering how to give an incentive to the staff to perform more efficiently.

He said that the various observations being made by one stakeholder also serves to slow down the process.

That stakeholder is APNU+AFC which has been raising objections of the names of the dead and migrated being marked off as having voted but providing no evidence to back up its claims.