Recount process completed with no change in election results

Some 36 hours after the process commenced, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has finally completed the recount for Subdistrict Four of District 4 and parts of District Five.

Several observers of the process at the GECOM Headquarters in Kingston, Georgetown, have revealed that the recount did not change the outcome of the September 1 general and regional elections, which showed a massive victory for the governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C).

“There were no significant changes to the results,” several observers posted online.

It was the Opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), led by Aubrey Norton, that requested the recount of the areas.

The next step is for the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) to ascertain the election results and present them to the Commission, as mandated by Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act.

The CEO’s role is to compile and present the results based on the declarations made by the respective Returning Officers, and to incorporate the findings of any legitimate recounts.

A total of 391 ballot boxes were recounted in Subdistrict Four (East Coast Demerara) and 77 in District Five.

APNU suffered a major blow in the September 1 polls, failing to secure any regional seats and losing its status as the country’s main Opposition party.

The PPP/C has won eight of the country’s 10 electoral districts – Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9.

The newcomer, We Invest in Nationhood (W.I.N.) party, led by billionaire Azruddin Mohamed, who is sanctioned by the United States for bribery and corruption, has won Districts 7 and 10.

The fortunes of W.I.N will put it as the main opposition party, dethroning the Aubrey Norton-led PNC.