AFC ALLEGES MISCOUNT, CLAIMS PRIME MINISTER'S SEAT

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 001162

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM GY
SUBJECT: AFC ALLEGES MISCOUNT, CLAIMS PRIME MINISTER'S SEAT


Classified By: AMBASSADOR DAVID M. ROBINSON FOR REASON 1.4(D)


1. (SBU) Summary: The Alliance for Change (AFC) alleges
that several ballot boxes were left off of the total tally in
Region Ten, costing the party a seat in parliament. In a
press conference, AFC leaders called on the ruling People's
Progressive Party/CIVIC (PPP/C) to voluntarily relinquish the
seat, which is currently held by Prime Minister (PM) Samuel
Hinds. Although the AFC pointed out this alleged error to
the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in September, they
waited until now--two months after results were announced--to
make their claim public. GECOM and the government have not
responded and may be hoping that the claim will blow over,
but the AFC has promised to pursue the extra seat and
scrutinize results from other regions for similar errors.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) The international community was copied on the AFC's
October 25 letter to Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Goocool
Boodhoo, officially lodging the AFC's claim and laying out a
chronology of the AFC's conversations with GECOM over the
issue. The AFC claims that vote totals from six polling
stations in Region Ten were documented with Statements of
Poll, but not tallied in the official declaration of results.
The AFC's recalculations award the Region Ten seat held by
PPP/C PM Hinds to the AFC, bringing the AFC's parliamentary
contingent up to six seats and reducing the PPP/C's allotment
from 36 seats to 35 seats. Former People's National Congress
Reform GECOM Commissioner Haslyn Parris privately scrutinized
the AFC's data and concurred with the end result.


3. (U) In a press conference on November 1, AFC leaders
Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman, and Sheila Holder
detailed their claim and called on the PPP/C to do the "right
thing" and voluntarily give up the seat. Ramjattan added
that legal action to force a seat reassignment could take two
or three years--about half of this parliament's term. He
warned that failure to reallocate the seat would erode the
public's confidence that the 2006 elections were free and
fair. The party referred to the alleged miscount as an
"error," but carefully reserved the right to allege "fraud"
later if necessary. The AFC also promised to scour the
remaining results for similar problems, saying, "this is the
first chink in the armor, and if we keep digging, we are sure
to find more."


4. (SBU) While the AFC began raising questions with GECOM
about the Region Ten totals as early as September 1, they
waited two months to air their claim publicly. In press
reports, Sheila Holder implied that the AFC had not wanted to
ignite a potentially combustive post-election atmosphere with
an immediate miscount claim. In taking their claim public
now, the AFC cited frustration with private attempts to
engage GECOM, urging from Region Ten supporters, and a desire
to set the record straight.


5. (C) Neither GECOM nor the government has officially
responded to the AFC's claim. The government-owned daily
reported that GECOM discussed the issue and asked the CEO to
prepare a report to guide their response. GECOM Chairman
Steve Surujbally told PolOff privately that he considered the
AFC's claims baseless and that GECOM was holding off on a
response to avoid "embarrassing" the AFC. The government
seems to be taking a hands-off approach, perhaps hoping that
the issue will go away.


6. (C) The current dispute, however, may give the government
the opening it needs to replace PM Hinds, whose time in
government is widely understood to be limited. The PM's
personal assistant Roopchand Bissessar told EmbOff that
Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn was a
likely candidate to replace Hinds. The Ministry of Transport
and Hydraulics shares a building with the PM's offices, and
Bissessar suggested that Benn had been named to that
portfolio so that Hinds could groom him as his successor.


7. (C) Comment: Coming after election fever has largely died
down, the AFC's claim has not made much of a splash. The AFC
has made it a point of honor to pursue their claim, but after
declaring the elections fair, correct, and complete, GECOM
and the government will likely try to keep the record closed.
For an already skeptical Guyanese populace, this incident
may just reinforce the belief that truly clean elections are
still a long way off for Guyana. End Comment.
ROBINSON