The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says it is seriously concerned about the findings of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) verification of Statements of Polls for last year’s general and regional elections. The commission promised that the matter will be extensively considered even as it awaits a report on the party’s findings.
From left to Right APNU’s executive member Lance Carberry, Member of Parliament (MP) Joseph Harmon, Nigel Hinds and Malcolm Harripaul, members of the team set up by APNU to scrutinise the Statements of Polls (SoPs) provided by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at a media briefing on Monday held to reveal the findings of the verification process
The APNU on Monday released its findings following the verification of the SoPs, saying there were instances of malpractice, misconduct, illegibility of documents and forgery.
The party also questioned the integrity of the results declared and gazetted by GECOM. “Our prevailing ‘take-away’ from the examination of the SoPs, among other key points, is that there was multiple instances of misconduct, malpractice, document falsification, and there was a missing final list of the polling stations.”
The report was presented by Nigel Hinds, a member of the team assembled by that party, which also included Fitzroy Corlette, Ronald Backer, Malcolm Harripaul, and George Vaughn.
Hinds told the media at a press briefing held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition on Hadfield Street, Georgetown that the team appointed by the APNU met with GECOM’s representatives between January 23 and February 20, 2012. He said the parties’ votes on the SoPs do not represent the total number of votes attributed to each party in GECOM’s final count, and thereby the results declared by the election entity and gazetted were incorrect. “The votes on the SoPs do not add up to information GECOM provided as final results… the inaccuracies are multiple.”
Meanwhile, GECOM said at the time the commission agreed to make the SoPs available to the APNU for scrutiny, the coalition had given the undertaking to provide GECOM with the details of its findings.
Notwithstanding the APNU’s public pronouncements, to date, GECOM has received no official documentation on this matter from the coalition. In view of the serious nature of this matter, GECOM has assured all stakeholders that all of the concerns raised by the APNU will be considered extensively at the level of the commission and its secretariat in a timely manner. Immediately thereafter, the commission will make a total and comprehensive response, addressing all of the stated concerns.
“Accordingly, it is expected that the commission will be in receipt of the documented detailed findings of the APNU, since this is fundamental to the commission’s consideration of and response to the party’s publicised concerns.”
Additionally, Hinds said GECOM failed to submit to the political parties and stakeholders a final list of polling stations used on Election Day. Hinds stated because there was no final list presented by GECOM the possibility exists that there would have been private residence(s) that nobody was aware of. “That is exactly what happened, there was no final list. You have to understand the importance of the final list and the absence of it, what it does to the political parties.”
Hinds referred to the Organisation of American States (OAS) report on the elections that said that there were SoPs included that were not vetted. GECOM, according to him, is attempting to locate the final list of polling stations. He noted too that there were instances where the deputy regional officers prepared several SoPs that were not signed by presiding officers or polling agents.
It was the very SoPs the party claims that were scanned and issued to all political parties on discs for their personal verification. The information on the discs was declared by the election entity as the original copies of the SoPs, a statement that the party regards as totally false. There were also multiple instances where SoPs carried forged signatures, particularly in Regions Three and Four.
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says it is seriously concerned about the findings of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) verification of Statements of Polls for last year’s general and regional elections. The commission promised that the matter will be extensively considered even as it awaits a report on the party’s findings.The APNU on Monday released its findings following the verification of the SoPs, saying there were instances of malpractice, misconduct, illegibility of documents and forgery. The party also questioned the integrity of the results declared and gazetted by GECOM. “Our prevailing ‘take-away’ from the examination of the SoPs, among other key points, is that there was multiple instances of misconduct, malpractice, document falsification, and there was a missing final list of the polling stations.” The report was presented by Nigel Hinds, a member of the team assembled by that party, which also included Fitzroy Corlette, Ronald Backer, Malcolm Harripaul, and George Vaughn. Hinds told the media at a press briefing held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition on Hadfield Street, Georgetown that the team appointed by the APNU met with GECOM’s representatives between January 23 and February 20, 2012. He said the parties’ votes on the SoPs do not represent the total number of votes attributed to each party in GECOM’s final count, and thereby the results declared by the election entity and gazetted were incorrect. “The votes on the SoPs do not add up to information GECOM provided as final results… the inaccuracies are multiple.”Meanwhile, GECOM said at the time the commission agreed to make the SoPs available to the APNU for scrutiny, the coalition had given the undertaking to provide GECOM with the details of its findings.Notwithstanding the APNU’s public pronouncements, to date, GECOM has received no official documentation on this matter from the coalition. In view of the serious nature of this matter, GECOM has assured all stakeholders that all of the concerns raised by the APNU will be considered extensively at the level of the commission and its secretariat in a timely manner. Immediately thereafter, the commission will make a total and comprehensive response, addressing all of the stated concerns. “Accordingly, it is expected that the commission will be in receipt of the documented detailed findings of the APNU, since this is fundamental to the commission’s consideration of and response to the party’s publicised concerns.” Additionally, Hinds said GECOM failed to submit to the political parties and stakeholders a final list of polling stations used on Election Day. Hinds stated because there was no final list presented by GECOM the possibility exists that there would have been private residence(s) that nobody was aware of. “That is exactly what happened, there was no final list. You have to understand the importance of the final list and the absence of it, what it does to the political parties.” Hinds referred to the Organisation of American States (OAS) report on the elections that said that there were SoPs included that were not vetted. GECOM, according to him, is attempting to locate the final list of polling stations. He noted too that there were instances where the deputy regional officers prepared several SoPs that were not signed by presiding officers or polling agents. It was the very SoPs the party claims that were scanned and issued to all political parties on discs for their personal verification. The information on the discs was declared by the election entity as the original copies of the SoPs, a statement that the party regards as totally false. There were also multiple instances where SoPs carried forged signatures, particularly in Regions Three and Four.
