The CARICOM report presented today to Guyana Elections Commission continues to hammer down the APNU/AFC argument that the electoral process was flawed and should be deemed non-credible.
Part of the CARICOM report presented today to GECOM reads as follows:
–Begin Quote…
“Demands for Information on Serial Numbers by Agents: Queries and Objections – It was observed that this activity became quite contentious in the initial stages of the recount process. This activity should have taken place on polling day.
It was observed as well, that the party agents (APNU/AFC) in particular, used this medium as a means of identifying voters who were presumed to be supporters of opposition parties and also to delay the process in a number of instances. This seems to have been a game plan for future reference.
The numerous requests for information on serial numbers was so bizarre, that on one observed occasion, an APNU/AFC agent was prepared to query serial numbers on the OLE in a work station where no one had voted. This was observed in Region 5, box 5157, where there was a single elector on the list, yet the APNU/AFC agent raised 5 serial numbers….
The Team viewed much of the exercise as a fishing expedition… which resulted in considerable time being wasted during the recount.The data (is) representative of the excessiveness of the queries, and the meager results achieved as shown in several of the ballot boxes recounted. The Team does not attempt to suggest that any kind of electoral fraud is permissible. But no proof was offered! The unfortunate effect… was that it provided fodder to persons who peddled the queries as factual.
This invariably and unfortunately led to a false narrative in the public domain that the elections were not credible and that massive electoral fraud occurred on poll day. But perhaps this was precisely the political objective.”
–End Quote. (Extract from CARICOM report submitted today, 15th of June, to GECOM)
