GECOM yet to decide on use of information received from Chief Immigration Officer

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is yet to decide on what it intends to do with the information received from the Chief Immigration Officer on Guyanese who were not in Guyana for the March 02, 2020 elections.

GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward on Monday said the possibility of reopening the ballot boxes to fact check whether those persons listed as being abroad were marked off as having voted has not been ruled out.

She would only say that the boxes which have been resealed following a recent recount are accessible if the need arises.

“They are right behind the Conference Center [recount site] in containers,” she said.

In response to inquiries made by GECOM’s Chairman Justice (retired) Claudette Singh to the Police Commissioner, who is the Chief Immigration Officer, she was provided information which suggests that 172 persons from a list of 207 submitted were out of the country on elections day.

The list was submitted by the incumbent APNU+AFC coalition and Ward said that she doesn’t know what methodology the Coalition used in coming up with the list.

GECOM has not said what it intends to do with the information but political parties are questing how GECOM will prove allegations that those persons voted on polling day.

Asked whether GECOM will be reopening the boxes, Ward said those boxes have be resealed and placed into containers but it doesn’t render them inaccessible.

She was keen to note that the Commission has made no decision on the way forward.

“I don’t want to say it is inaccessible. The issue remains an issue of discussion.”

Ward told reporters that she was unsure of the Chairman’s reason for writing the Commissioner of Police with her request.

“I will not want to speak for the Chair. As a matter of fact, the issue is one that continues to engage the Commission… when the Commission makes a decision it will be communicated publicly… I will not want to infer as to what the Chair is doing.”

Ward also could not say what methodology the Police used in coming up with the 172 names.