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FM
Former Member

GECOM and the 2015 Election: a case for forensic audit

 

 

Dear Editor,

 

Article 162 of the Constitution confers upon the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) the following functional responsibilities:

 

162 (1) (a)     “…exercise general direction and supervision over the registration of electors and the administrative conduct of all elections of members of the National Assembly”; and

 

(b)     “… issue such instructions and take such action as appear to it necessary or expedient to ensure impartiality, fairness and compliance with the provisions of this constitution or of any Act of Parliament on the part of persons exercising powers or performing duties connected with or relating to the matters aforesaid”.

 

On or about May 14, 2015, the Chief Elections Officer at a press conference disclosed that fake Statements of Poll entered the system at GECOM. When asked how many, he said “many”. Indeed, he disclosed that it goes against “his conscience” to disclose the results in his possession, inter alia, for the following reasons:

 

(a) variances in the data contained in the Statements of Poll within his and those in the possession of the Returning Officers of the respective Electoral Districts;

 

(b) the number of votes cast as recorded on some of the Statements of Poll in his possession far exceeded the number of electors on the official list of electors for the corresponding divisions;

 

(c) some of the Statements of Poll in his possession differed materially from those officially issued by GECOM.

 

These are not information emanating from the PPP but are crucial admissions made by the Chief Elections Officer himself, indicting GECOM and the process employed by GECOM. The matter is compounded by the fact that requests for recounts of ballots before the final results were tabulated, a statutory facility available to political parties who contested the elections, were refused by Returning Officers who have no power and discretion to do so. The requests were refused notwithstanding, in Region Eight, for example, the difference between the votes cast in favour of APNU+AFC and PPP/C was a singular ballot and in that region alone, there were a number of rejected ballots. In this matrix, one cannot discount the fact that the total number of rejected ballots and the difference between the votes cast in favour of the APNU+AFC and PPP/C was marginal. All of these are statistical data from GECOM. Significantly, a report produced by the IT Department at GECOM and circulated to the Commissioners was hastily recalled. Its content was damaging to the integrity of the electoral process. It was never seen again.

 

Notwithstanding all the above, the Chairman of the Guyana Election Commission continues to maintain that the electoral process was credible and fair. Of course, the imprimatur which it received from the observer missions and the diplomatic community is usually invoked to corroborate the integrity of the process. Unfortunately, the reality is that nearly half of the electorate, whether rightfully or wrongfully, does not share this view. In any electoral system and process it is the electorate who is the most important stakeholder and it is only as credible as its most important stakeholder perceives to be.

 

Last week the Chairman announced that no investigation will be launched by GECOM into how fake Statements of Poll entered the GECOM machinery. GECOM is a public authority, indeed, a constitutional commission, invested with fundamental responsibilities and it is constitutionally enjoined to ensure that its processes are impartial and fair. The Chief Elections Officer has publicly admitted that fake Statements of Poll penetrated the system and yet the Chairman of the Commission is refusing to hold an investigation; the very Chairman who insists that the electoral processes were credible and fair. One would expect if he is confident in the integrity of the process, he would welcome scrutiny from every quarter and would encourage an investigation into any matter which would tend to impugn this integrity.

 

Even in the Elections Petition which has been filed, the same approach is being adopted. I filed a Summons seeking the following:

 

(i) an Order directing the Chief Elections Officer to produce the parcels of all election papers and documents including those he received from the Returning Officer of each electoral division including but not limited to the following:-

 

(a) all electoral lists containing the names of the persons entitled to vote at the said polling division;

 

(b) all issued ballots;

 

(c) all unused ballots;

 

(d) all the votes cast by electors at each polling division;

 

(e) all statements of poll issued at the said polling division;

 

(f) all certificates of counting issued in respect to the votes cast at each and every polling division;

 

(g) all poll books used at each and every polling division.

 

(ii) that an Order be made allowing for the examination and inspection of the election papers and documents set out in Paragraph (i) and to take copies of the said election papers and documents.

 

These are all public documents in the custody of GECOM. In the interest of transparency and fairness, they should be made available. Instead, from all indications, GECOM is resisting this application in the Court and is refusing to make available these documents for scrutiny. This type of conduct continues to compound the suspicion which surrounds the 2015 General and Regional Elections. GECOM seems bent on exacerbating it. Transparency International and like organizations, are stunningly silent on this matter. I am not surprised. I was always suspicious of their agendas. TI’s leaders are in bed with those who benefitted from the irregularities at GECOM. Today, they are consultants and auditors earning millions under the government.

 

In Guyana, forensic audits are now trending. There is no process more deserving of a forensic audit than the 2015 electoral process and its results. It may be the only way to remove the dark cloud of suspicion which hovers over them and to restore public confidence in GECOM, which is so vital for the future.

By: Mohabir Anil Nandlall
Attorney-at-Law

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