Given the problems associated with the original declaration of the results for Region 4, and its outright rejection by all the local and international observers as well as the political parties contesting the elections (except APNU+AFC) as having lacked transparency and credibility, a recount was brokered by the Chair of CARICOM.
One recalls that as soon as the agreement with the Chair of CARICOM was reached for the recount and for the presence of a high-level CARICOM team to observe the exercise, one of the APNU+AFC’s candidates for the elections questioned the validity of the presence of the CARICOM team.
Concerns about the validity of the Returning Officers’ declarations
GECOM had stated that the declarations by the ten ROs, including that of the RO for Region 4, remain valid unless they are replaced by the results of the recount.
This appears to suggest that, should the recount exercise not reach a satisfactory conclusion as a basis for declaring the winner of the elections, GECOM will revert to the original declarations of the ROs to make the declaration of the winner of the elections.
Given the mounting evidence of the inflation of the tabulation results for Region 4 in favour of the APNU+AFC, as borne out so far during the recount exercise, one would therefore have to question GECOM’s decision to include the results for Region 4.
