Elections results could be known by night of September 2- Chief Elections Officer

If there are no major delays or a request for a recount, the results for the September 1 general and regional elections should be known the night of September 2, with an official declaration the following day, Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud said Monday.

“So far as a declaration is concerned, at the level of GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission) at the district level, we are earmarked to have declarations done by the night of the day after elections,” Persaud told members of the media on Monday at the end of Nomination Day activities held at the Umana Yana.

Once those declarations are made by Tuesday evening at the district level, it would then be clear who the winner of the election is. Persaud therefore said that an official declaration of the results could be made the following day.

A total of seven political parties submitted their lists of candidates to contest the upcoming elections. They include the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the Alliance for Change (AFC), A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and newcomer We Invest in Nationhood (WIN).

According to Persaud, staff of GECOM are trained and prepared for the elections.

Already, he said, several international overseas missions are in Guyana to observe the process.

Additionally, Persaud said security measures have been introduced to ensure that the tabulation of votes is done in a “transparent manner.”

Once confirmed, Persaud said the lists of the parties contesting the elections will be posted outside his office.

And, in keeping with the law, Persaud said as soon as Statement of Polls (SOPs) are processed, it will be posted on GECOM website.

“So the results can be known even before we declare it because you can be sitting in your sitting room and doing your own tabulation,” Persaud said.

In terms of the declaration, Persaud said, “If there is a recount, it would be delayed.

“If there is not, I think by the second day after elections we should have a national declaration.”

Editor’s note: This story originally stated that results could be available as early as elections night (September 1) but it has since been updated to accurately reflect what the Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Vishnu Persaud said; that is, that the results could be available as early as the night of September 2.