Hunt not happy at handling of St Joseph recount

UNITED National Congress (UNC) candidate for St Joseph Ahloy Hunt on Thursday alleged irregularities arising at the ongoing recount into ballots at St Joseph community centre.

The UNC called for recounts at five marginal seats which their candidates had not won in last Monday’s general election.

Hunt held a briefing at the centre with his brother former PNM minister Gary Hunt and campaign manager Neil Gosine.

He said, “Yesterday I was called by my counting agent, who indicated to me that a number of irregularities were taking place.”

He then visited the centre.

“We picked up that over 171 ballots had irregular initials by the deputy presiding officer (DPO).”

Also one ballot had no signature but was counted for the PNM, among this batch of 300 votes cast in polling division 1041, Hunt added.

“We questioned that. We questioned the veracity of it.”

He said the DPO or presiding officer must sign all ballots as the only proof the ballot is certified as valid.

“Last night (Wednesday), before we were allowed to examine each ballot and the initials on it, a number of deliberations took place that slowed the entire process. The returning officer left the room on at least two occasions, called her supporters, took very long.

“I and my counting agent were able to examine each ballot, and each ballot showed big variations in the initials. What should be ‘CE’ was ‘CC,’ ‘CL’ and something else that isn’t even a letter. There was no clarity of the initials ‘CE.’”

Hunt said on Thursday morning the returning officer said she would continue the recount in the same way as the count was done on election day, in that she would hold up each ballot slip for viewing of the front and then the back.

He complained, “The distance at which I had to examine that – and you know I wear glasses and these are reading glasses...”

Indicating to a reporter, he said, “So where you have your camera, where she is standing, she is holding up this slip and I’m telling her, ‘Ma’am, I cannot see the initials on the paper, and therefore I cannot verify whether the initials are true.'”

Hunt said the returning officer had said she would put up a sample of the initials against which the signature on each ballot could be checked.

He also complained an envelope containing all 300 ballots from one polling division had not indicated that the validity of 171 ballots contained within was being queried
.

Hunt continued, “We are being denied the opportunity to inspect the station diary where the presiding officer records the activity of election day. Anybody who comes to vote and they don’t have an ID card and a ballot paper can go and take an oath, and that is recorded in the diary.

“We have been requesting this since the first day, and we are being denied that opportunity. Basically, they are floating the rules and regulations that govern the process of this recount.

“One minute we are following one procedure from yesterday, and then there’s a new procedure for today, and it keeps moving and the narrative keeps changing.”

Hunt said his attorney is seeking to return to the process from Wednesday night, having found 171 alleged irregularities on one polling division.

“There are too many irregularities preventing us doing a proper recount to verify whether or now everything was above board during the election process.”

Gary Hunt said they were not hindering the process, which they want to be finished, but wanted to ensure it was above board, and so preserve democracy for future generations.

“Without the diary we are unable to tell who are the voters who came in without ID cards.”

He said the UNC stands for peace, democracy and good governance.

“If we found ten or five irregularities we could let that pass. But we found 171 irregularities. That is too large a number to ignore.”