The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has received the approval of the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) to utilise its proposed 10 workstations for the national recount of ballots from the March 2 general and regional elections.

GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward told the media on Thursday that the NCTF had agreed to eight stations, each with 14 persons and two with 10 people. This allows for a total of 132 persons to be present during the recount process which is scheduled to take place at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Following a visit to the ACCC on Monday, the NCTF, chaired by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, presented its report to the elections commission, which also included 14 recommendations the commission should follow to ensure the safety of all involved.

The protocols include the frequency at which staff at the respective workstations should sanitise, the frequency at which bins should be emptied, lunch hours rotation and ensuring that windows are opened to allow fresh air. The NCTF recommendation of sanitising surfaces will form part of the commission’s implementation plan that will also see ballot boxes being sanitised.

The commencement date for the recount is soon to be announced. That date is dependent on several other factors, including a response from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which is sending a high-level team to supervise the process. GECOM said it has not yet received any travel arrangements for the team.