Bibi Haniffa posted:How can you count votes at a polling station? It is not logistically possible. Ballot boxes are handed over to the police station and to returning officers who take it from there. There is a procedure to be followed before and after the votes are counted.
Cheddi was a stupid man, but I doubt if he was that stupid.
Miss Haniffa, President Hoyte had indeed said that it would be a "logistical nightmare" to count the votes at polling stations. But, you know, in last year's general elections the votes were counted at polling stations. Presiding officers had to sign Statements of Poll certifying the number of votes each political party got at every polling station. One copy was mounted on the wall of each polling station. The ballots were then transported to GECOM with accompanying Statements of Poll. Even before that, APNU+AFC polling agents took cell phone photos of each Statement of Poll and sent them to the coalition's command centre. That whole process, as you know, resulted in a delay on the part of GECOM to release the official final results. Because the main contesting parties disagreed on some Statements of Poll.