Guyanese Online

DISCREPANCIES IN APNU AND GECOM’S STATEMENTS OF POLL 1ST DEC 2011

December 1st, 2011

Dear Mr. Boodhoo,

We write to inform you that A.P.N.U. has in its possession compelling SOP-based evidence that there may be serious discrepancies between A.P.N.U.’s statement of polls (SOPS) and the SOPS being entered into your system at GECOM.

We wish to alert you that in the event that the verification exercise about to be engaged at the region 4 returning officer’s office confirms that we are in the presence of unacceptable discrepancies, it is our decision to base our acceptance of the final declaration only on an all party and GECOM verification process of the SOPS of Region 4 and any other region where such discrepancies are found to exist.

Sincerely,
Joseph Harmon
Election Agent, A.P.N.U.

MANY POLLING PLACES LOCATED AT PPP SUPPORTERS’ HOMES ON ECD REGION 4

FOR THE FIRST TIME A LARGE NUMBER OF PPP SUPPORTERS’S HOMES WERE MADE POLLING PLACES ON THE EAST COAST DEMERARA REGION 4. IN MANY CASES, THE POLLING PLACES WERE CREATED A FEW DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONS .

ALPHA SPLIT OF POLLING PLACE LIST AND FAULTY INK FACILITATES MULTIPLE VOTING

BASED ON NUMEROUS REPORTS FROM OUR POLLING OFFICIALS THE ALPHA SPLIT OF THE POLLING PLACE LIST AND FAULTY INK WERE USED TO ALLOW MULTIPLE VOTING. IN MANY SCHOOLS THAT HOUSED SEVERAL POLLING STATIONS, EACH POLLING STATION HAD THE SAME VOTERS LIST. THIS MEANT THAT A VOTER’S NAME APPEARED ON THE LIST 4 OR MORE TIMES AT THE SAME SCHOOL.

THE INK THAT WAS USED TO STAIN VOTERS FINGERS TOOK 15 TO 20 MINUTES TO BECOME DARK ON THE FINGER. DURING TH E TIME IT TOOK FOR THE STAIN TO BECOME EFFECTIVE A VOTER COULD GO TO 3 TO 4 STATIONS AND CAST A VOTE.

MULTIPLE VOTING WAS REPORTED AT TIMEHRI PRIMARY SCHOOL WHERE A GROUP OF 26 PPP SUPPORTERS VOTED TWICE BEFORE THEY WERE DETECTED. THE QUESTION IS HOW MANY GROUPS OF PPP SUPPORTERS WENT UNDETECTED OR WERE SIMPLY ALLOWED TO VOTE.

STATEMENT FROM O.A.S. OBSERVERS

“The OAS also observed a few issues that may have caused some voter confusion on the day of the election. The proportion of polling stations that were changed between the November 8th, 2011 published Official List of Polling Stations and the list provided to the OAS electoral observation mission dated November 25th was high. These discrepancies came to a national average of over 5% of polling stations, and were particularly elevated for stations located in Regions 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10. In at least three of these polling stations OAS observers noted that, on the day prior to the polls, no written notice advising of the new polling location was in evidence.

The OAS mission also observed cases of voters being unable to find their names on the lists at the polling centers, as well as long lines and some voter confusion regarding information on where to cast their vote.

In addition, the Electoral Commission issued notification of the decision to disallow party scrutineers to apply for certificates of work and thereby vote in the polling station they were observing two days prior to the election. In at least one instance in region 4, the OAS observed that this decision had not been relayed to a polling station, resulting in lack of uniform application of the decision and the casting of a ballot by a scrutineer.

•Tabulation and processing of results

After the close of the polls, the vote counting and transmission process suffered from significant delays. The mission considers it unfortunate that the smooth functioning of the process seen throughout the day was replaced by inefficient procedures and a lack of coordination in the processing and release of preliminary and final results. In addition, at 6 AM on November 29th, a significant discrepancy between the number of statements of poll received by the Returning Officer for Region 4 and those processed at GECOM’s headquarters was observed.

The OAS teams stationed at GECOM’s tabulation center in Georgetown observed at least two envelopes containing statements of poll being delivered by an unaccredited and unescorted individual. While the OAS has maintained a 24 hour presence in the tabulation center since theclose of polls, the level of transparency and access to information regarding the process has not been as complete as that experienced by the mission prior to election day.”