Guyana: Political Opposition Ahead By 75% After Vote Counting

Almost three months after the general elections of March 2, 97 ballot boxes were tallied during the National Recount exercise carried out in Guyana, on Monday.

RELATED:

Guyana: Opposition Party Concerned About Election Recount

Now, the total number of boxes recounted is 1836, with 503 boxes remaining. About ninety days later, a recount is still happening and there is still no result published, amidst presumable irregularities with the ballots. Guyana Elections Commission's ​​​​​Public Relations Officer (GECOM-PRO), Yolanda Ward informed that it emerged that 1536 ballots had been rejected for General Elections while Regional Elections votes accounted for 1927 rejected ballots.

Ward stated that some of the reasons why a ballot might be rejected are because these are “unmarked or void of uncertainty, marked for more than one party’s list of candidates or marked so that the elector can be identified.”

Two major parties have been fighting for power in Guyana since independence in 1966. On one side, the People's Progressive Party-Civic(PPP/C), which ruled for 23 years until 2015. On the other, the coalition formed by two parties: the Association for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC), led by the current President David Granger

According to the recount, for the General Elections, APNU/AFC received 23, 808 votes, while the PPP/C received 47,851. On the other hand, for the Regional Elections, APNU/AFC received 23, 833 votes, while the PPP/C received 47,900.