Close to two weeks after the June 12 Local Government Elections (LGE) were held, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is expected to announce the final results in ‘short order’.
This is according to PPP-nominated GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj.
In an interview with the News Room on Thursday, Gunraj acknowledged there were some outstanding issues which might have impacted the timely publication of the results, including recount exercises.
In the municipality of Mahdia, Region Eight, for example, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had requested a recount after it lost one constituency by just one vote. That recount request was subsequently withdrawn, however.
Tiebreakers were also needed in two Local Authority Areas (LAAs). Those were completed on Thursday.
Now the way has been cleared for a declaration.
“…I expect to see the publication of the entire results in the Official Gazette in short order,” Gunraj told the News Room.
Gunraj, however, noted that APNU-nominated commissioner Vincent Alexander has called for a review of the entire process.
A process, which he said “must be contextualised” especially since there has been no report from the Chief Elections Officer in the past years, way back to 2015.
“…One would expect after the conclusion of any national event of this nature that some sort of report is generated…As a Commission, we expect to have to have a report from the Chief Elections Officer and which covers the various aspects of the electoral process,” Gunraj said.
“…From the 2015 elections there has been no report. From the 2016 elections there has been no report. The 2018 there has been no report. The 2020 elections there was no report provided by the Chief Elections Officer,” he pointed out.
At the last statutory meeting of the Commission, Gunraj said the issue was raised and an undertaken was given by the Chief Elections Officer to present the report.
“Personally, I have no absolutely objection to a report being submitted by the Chief Elections Officer and for it to be intelligently and constructively discussed,” he said
This report, according to Gunraj, will enable the commission to improve systems, cater for shortcomings and make necessary changes to have a smoother and more efficient process.
